


oh, close your eyes (and listen to my heartbeat)

by starberryteas



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Astronauts, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Minor Injuries, Sick Character, Slow Burn, just kghn in space :), suffocation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28139532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starberryteas/pseuds/starberryteas
Summary: “I promise,” Hinata started, staring Kageyama straight in the eye. “I will become Karasuno’s best pilot. I will beat you, just you wait.”Kageyama stared back, his gaze as intense as the midnight sky. “Show me, then. Show me when you’re finally the best.”Hinata Shouyou becomes a part of the Karasuno Astronaut Team with one mission and one mission only: to go to Mars and study the seemingly mysterious planet.He meets Kageyama Tobio, who insists he won't work with anyone and can do the job alone.Hinata helps Kageyama to realize no one is alone on their mission to space, and Kageyama helps Hinata realize that he doesn't have to shoulder every burden on his own.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45
Collections: Kagehina Big Bang 2020





	oh, close your eyes (and listen to my heartbeat)

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone! this is my fic for the kagehina big bang 2020 :D
> 
> this includes art from the amazing [s_holdthebus on twitter](https://twitter.com/s_holdthebus) !! the art can be found [here](https://twitter.com/s_holdthebus/status/1340364465691189248?s=20) !!
> 
> a disclaimer before you read: this in no way is accurate to the events astronauts deal with in real life. i did some research but NOT all of it will be completely accurate (i took some creative liberties here) so don't mind that :) just read the fic and enjoy!
> 
> trigger warnings for slight blood mention and suffocation
> 
> this is the [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/28HY9o3k4k10DExOpeD4Os) for the fic !! i hope u listen as u read and enjoy :)
> 
> the title is from fly you to the moon by justin vasquez :D

Hinata was always fascinated by the space behind the sky that seemed to shine brighter each passing day.

When Hinata thought of space, he thought of it’s vast nature, how the stars seemed to shine when they were lightyears away from each other. 

Alone, isolated, but still shining. 

He thought of the planets, how they seemed to align with each other without fail. 

He thought of asteroids, how one could do so much damage to whatever was in its path. 

He thought of one day reaching the stars above, letting himself breathe as he reached the dream he always wanted to reach. 

He wanted to experience what it meant to be in space, working alongside others far away from the place he called home. 

It was lonely and far, but Hinata always knew it would be worth it.

His dreams of becoming an astronaut came true as soon as he entered the Karasuno Training Academy, barely scraping through with his grades. 

Though, the administration found his pilot skills somewhat extraordinary, so they allowed him in. 

Often known as someone that didn't fit into his class, he didn’t mind.

He was excited to get into space, see the stars that aligned the night sky, space’s only source of light. 

It was dark, vast, and Hinata was ready to see all of it.

Hinata met a few people in the training academy, namely trainees Tsukishima Kei, Yamaguchi Tadashi, and Yachi Hitoka. 

The four of them were considered pretty good at what they were able to do, that being what brought them together. 

Tsukishima was one of the best pilots of their class, but he often chose to be alone or with Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi was one of the best flight engineers in training in his class, always helping others when they needed it. 

Though, Hinata often observed how he never was interested in anyone like he was interested in Tsukishima, the two of them becoming an inseparable pair. 

He realized that they were most likely aiming to become partners.

After all, a pilot needed a flight engineer at their side for repairs and daily checks to make sure everything was functioning properly. 

Yachi was aspiring to be a mission specialist, one of the most important jobs an astronaut could have. 

She had to know everything about the mission, the people going on the mission, and the risks of the mission. 

She was basically mission control, controlling everything from Earth and sending transmissions to space and vice versa. 

Hinata always admired her work, she was super smart and she had a fascinating knack for leadership.

Hinata decided he was going to be the best astronaut (namely pilot) the Karasuno Training Academy had ever seen, he swore at least that much to himself (and the few people that criticized his height). 

He wasn’t going to let grades decide that for him, he’d get to piloting with his skill in mind.

“It won’t get you anywhere,” Tsukishima, the _grade A asshole_ in Hinata’s class, said one day when Hinata decided to sit near him during lunch and talk about his pilot dreams.

Hinata crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. “It’ll get me somewhere! You just haven’t seen me pilot any ships yet,” He argued.

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, sure, it’ll get you somewhere: Out of this training academy.”

Hinata let out a breath, not really sure how Yamaguchi could handle being around Tsukishima all the time. 

“I think it’ll get you somewhere!” Yachi exclaimed, interjecting herself into the conversation.

“It probably will,” Yamaguchi agreed. “We’re all in this academy, right? We all made it here with our skills and knowledge.”

Tsukishima huffed. “I don’t believe sheer skill can bring anyone anywhere if they don’t harness it.”

Hinata sighed, exasperated. “Are you saying that I’m not harnessing my skills?” 

If Tsukishima, one of the best pilots in the academy, was telling him this, did it mean he wasn’t ready to become a pilot? 

He wasn’t even ranked on the academy’s pilot ranking scale; something Yachi had said wasn’t too big of a deal, rankings hadn’t mattered. 

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Tsukishima hissed. “I’m saying that it won’t work unless you find the right way to fly.”

Hinata slammed his face down on the table, earning a surprised yelp from Yachi and Yamaguchi.

“Someone tell Tsukki to stop talking in poem quotes,” he groaned.

“Don’t call me that,” Tsukishima grumbled.

Yamaguchi chuckled, ruffling Hinata’s hair. “I think Tsukki is trying to encourage you in his own Tsukishima Kei way.”

Yachi stifled a laugh, looking at Tsukishima. “Is that right, _Kei-kun?”_

Tsukishima rolled his eyes as Hinata lifted his head up from the table, smiling mischievously. “Yeah, _Kei-kun,_ are you trying to encourage me?”

Tsukishima didn’t respond, Yamaguchi taking this as a yes and grabbing onto Tsukishima’s arm. “Tsukki, you’re so nice! Especially after I saw the flight times from today’s flight simulation!”

Hinata winced at that, remembering his time at the virtual flight simulation. 

Yamaguchi and Yachi didn’t have to go in the flight simulation, it was only for pilots after all, so they weren’t sure about the ranking system. 

All they knew was that the longer someone’s time was, the lower ranked that person would be.

“Oh, I haven’t seen the times yet,” Yachi said. She glanced between Tsukishima and Hinata, a big smile on her face. “How’d you two do? What’d you two get?”

“Seven minutes,” Tsukishima mumbled. “It’s whatever, I think I can do better, though.”

“Ah! Amazing, Tsukishima!” Yachi exclaimed. She looked over to Hinata, excitement still on her face. “How did you do, Hinata?”

Hinata let out a shaky breath. “I got twenty minutes,” he managed, trying not to make eye contact with Yachi, mostly out of embarrassment. 

The simulation consisted of a pilot sitting in a testing chair.

It was much like a game, having to avoid asteroids and other space rocks. 

It got harder as it went on with the more obstacles you hit, the more difficult the simulation would be. 

Hinata thought it wouldn’t be too hard at first, the instructor making it look more easier than expected.

“At least it isn’t the worst time,” Tsukishima muttered, as if he was trying to make light of the situation. “You did well, considering our last simulation.”

Hinata groaned. “We only take the simulation once a month, Tsukishima! I hardly improved at all.”

Yachi sighed, putting a hand on Hinata’s shoulder. “Well, you did what you could. Each time you improve, the closer you get to becoming Karasuno’s best pilot!”

Yamaguchi nodded, crossing his arms. “Yeah! I think you’d be able to beat the best pilot right now!” He turned to Tsukishima, who hummed in response. “What was their time, Tsukki?”

Tsukishima sighed. “It was five minutes.” Tsukishima looked over to Hinata. “You’ve seen him before.”

Hinata shrugged, he knew there was someone who had a better time than Tsukishima, but he never saw him in person.

Yamaguchi gasped from beside him. “Oh! I’ve heard that he’s one of the fastest Karasuno’s seen all year!” Yamaguchi exclaimed.

Yachi hummed. “A lot of the mission specialist students talk about him! Kageyama Tobio, the King of Space!”

Hinata sighed, _there he was,_ the fastest pilot in his class that was always talked about. 

Hinata hadn’t seen Kageyama Tobio in person ever, but everyone constantly talked about him.

“I’ll beat him,” Hinata said, the time of five minutes ringing in his head. “I’ll get to him.”

Tsukishima crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair. “I don’t think you should be making promises you can’t keep.”

Hinata rolled his eyes, standing up from his chair.

He wasn’t sure why Tsukishima constantly was on his ass about what he could and couldn’t do. 

Maybe that was his own way of caring, Hinata wasn't sure.

But, he wasn't taking any of it.

“I’m not making promises,” he hissed. “Not to you, anyway.”

Yachi chuckled nervously. “How about we talk about the group assignment coming up! Do you guys want to group together?” She asked, trying to steer the conversation from whatever direction it was headed.

“We only need one pilot, don’t we?” Tsukishima asked, turning to Hinata. “You know what I’ve always wondered? Why did _you_ get accepted into this academy when there are so many other people they could’ve given this opportunity to?”

Hinata huffed, anger building up inside of him. 

He knew he shouldn’t give in, not when Tsukishima was obviously trying to get him angry for whatever reason, but he couldn’t help it. 

Not when he wasn’t even sure himself. 

He decided not to snap at Tsukishima, he was sure he had good intentions, and let out a shaky breath. “I’ll show you I can be Karasuno’s best pilot. My time in the flight simulation doesn’t mean anything when we're in space!”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

Before he could say anything, Yamaguchi put his hand on his shoulder, a way of telling Tsukishima not to say anymore. 

Hinata sighed, thankful for Yamaguchi’s help.

Yachi stood up, her food in her hand. “Well, uh, this has been fun! I have a lot of work to do, see you guys later!”

“Bye, Yachi-san,” Hinata said, smiling as she left the table, leaving just Hinata, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi.

Hinata looked to Tsukishima, sighing. “I don’t know why I’m at Karasuno if I’m not the best pilot. But, I promise one thing, Tsukishima, and I _will_ be able to keep this promise.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes widened as Tsukishima only smirked, putting a hand to his mouth to stop a laugh. “Oh? And what is that?”

Hinata, with his intense gaze that seemed to tear straight into Tsukishima’s defenses, only stared. “I _will_ be Karasuno’s best pilot.”

~

Hinata walked towards the flight simulation room, his promise in his mind. 

He wasn’t exactly sure why he’d made the promise, maybe it was just something in the moment, but he definitely didn’t mean to do it.

And, the more Hinata thought about it, Tsukishima would probably forget it ever existed.

Though, he figured it’d be fine.

The promise was motivation for him to get better, to somehow knock the king of flight’s times off of the rankings and put Hinata on the top.

He strolled towards the flight simulation room, looking through its big windows at the machine they used to simulate the stars in the sky that seemed unreachable.

Hinata clenched his fists, he’d get to the seemingly unreachable, even it meant conquering the flight simulator first.

“The times aren't accurate, you know.”

Hinata stilled, turning around slowly.

He feared the worst, perhaps it was some teacher that would yell at him for going to the flight simulation room when he shouldn’t even be near it.

But, turning around, he faced the most _attractive_ person he’d ever seen. 

Hinata stared, this stranger’s eyes looking more like the midnight sky than the midnight sky itself. 

His hair matched the dark look in his eyes, ones that seemed closed off, never to get into.

Also, he had an _undercut._

Hinata couldn't believe his eyes, he was so _beautiful._

Hinata took a hold of himself, forget this guy’s attractiveness, what was he even talking about? 

“Uh, what do you mean?” Hinata asked, watching as the guy walked closer to the window of the flight simulation room.

“They manipulate the simulation,” he said, turning to face Hinata. “That’s why your time was so low.”

Hinata froze. “Were you _watching_ me?” He asked, shocked that this guy even knew of Hinata’s time.

He nodded slowly. “I wanted to know why Tsukishima was so irritated by you. I figured that it was because of your flight time, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” He looked back at the flight simulation. “I think you’re just irritating.”

_Ouch._

It was a given Tsukishima was irritated by Hinata (but he always cared about his friends, that was just how he showed his love), but he didn’t think some random guy would assume he was irritating if they didn’t even know each other.

Hinata brushed it off for the moment, there was so much going on, and this stranger just told him the simulation was _manipulated._

“Wait, what did you mean they manipulated the simulation? They can do that?” Hinata asked.

The stranger nodded, eyebrows furrowing as he looked back to Hinata. “The teachers make it harder on purpose, making it impossible to avoid asteroids and making them crash into you. They did it for me when I first came to the school. Learn to pass it and they give up on trying to manipulate your simulation time.”

“What?” Hinata shouted. “Why would they do that?” Hinata asked, ignoring the way his voice cracked.

The guy only shrugged, putting his hand on the window in front of him. “I think they don’t want pilots they think are amazing to attend. Gets them more money the more people don't graduate because of how long they stay.” He let out a shaky breath before continuing. “Like I said, they did it to me, and now I have the best times in this damn academy.”

Hinata gasped. “No _fucking_ way,” Hinata whispered, shocked. 

This couldn’t be, he couldn’t have been talking toー

 _“Don’t even say it,”_ he hissed. “Just call me Kageyama, _dumbass.”_

Hinata glared, what was this guy’s deal? “Why can’t I say it? And who are you calling dumbass?”

Kageyama huffed, removing his hand from the window and faced Hinata, crossing his arms.

“You, you dumbass,” he said. “Just don’t say it. I didn’t come here to argue with you.”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “Then why are you here?”

Kageyama shrugged, narrowing his eyes. “I know what it does to someone when they realize the simulation is being manipulated just to make them quit trying. You were bound to realize at some point.”

Hinata shook his head because, no, he wasn’t even _suspicious_ of the simulation.

“I wasn’t, but whatever. At least I know now.” He raised an eyebrow. “You said there was a way to get past it?”

Kageyama hummed. “Figure it out yourself,” he said bluntly, no emotion behind what he said whatsoever.

 _I can’t believe I thought this guy was attractive,_ Hinata thought, sighing. 

Well, he _was,_ but Hinata didn’t want to admit that.

Not when Kageyama was being extremely rude.

“Figure it out myself? Why can’t you just tell me?” Hinata asked, irritated Kageyama came here just to tell him something and _not_ tell him how to go past it.

Kageyama’s gaze reached Hinata’s, his stare intense and harsh.

"Only the strong will be able to fly to space,” Kageyama said, his voice firm and unwavering. “Get better by yourself, or you’ll _never_ make it.”

Hinata clenched his fists, who does Kageyama Tobio think he is? “I will,” Hinata vowed, remembering his promise to Tsukishima. 

It was no longer meant for Tsukishima, it was a promise to the academy’s best pilot, a promise he never intended to break.

“I promise,” Hinata started, staring Kageyama straight in the eye. “I _will_ become Karasuno’s best pilot. I will beat you, just you wait.”

Kageyama stared back, his gaze as intense as the midnight sky. “Show me, then. Show me when you’re finally the best.”

“I will,” Hinata said, once again, standing his ground.

He walked away, feeling Kageyama glare at his back as he left.

It was a promise he’d made to Tsukishima, now meant for Kageyama. 

If it was the last thing he’d do, he’d beat Kageyama, bypass the flight simulation manipulating, and get into space before Kageyama could even _blink._

He’d do it all, if not for himself then for the promise he made to the one person who seemed to believe in his strength more than he did himself. 

~

Four years passed since Hinata made a promise to Kageyama. 

It’d been four long years of being in Karasuno, Hinata and his other schoolmates being required to take an extra job alongside their main one they were currently taking classes for.

Hinata had chosen being a mission specialist as his extra job, he could always ask Yachi for help when he needed it. 

But, his main goal of being a pilot never wavered.

Tsukishima had chosen flight engineer to pair with Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi choosing to be a backup pilot to accompany him. 

Yachi had also chosen to be a backup pilot, but her resolve on being a mission specialist had priority.

Hinata hadn’t seen Kageyama since the day they met at the flight simulation room. 

If anything, Hinata was thankful for that, because he _still_ didn’t figure out how to bypass the manipulation in the flight simulation during their first year.

There was a possibility that Kageyama saw him struggling still, but Hinata figured if Kageyama hadn’t shown his face yet, he wasn’t watching anymore.

Eventually in their second year, Hinata figured out how to bypass the manipulation, his reckless piloting and fast instincts helped bring him higher in the rankings.

He always thought of Kageyama, making the four years pass by quickly.

His promise was something that kept him going, as well as the subtle way Kageyama told him that he believed in Hinata’s strength.

Kageyama was a puzzle to him, one Hinata was determined to solve once they had met up once again.

Kageyama Tobio, who was attractive but was as much of a jerk as Tsukishima, Hinata swore he would be able to break down his defenses and find out more about the puzzle he was. 

He wasn’t sure why, but he _would._

His piloting still wasn’t at Kageyama’s level, but he’d been confident in the next few years he had in the academy that he’d be able to. 

He’d find Kageyama once again, challenge him to a race in the flight simulation, and finally beat him.

That was until Hinata realized that his last few years in the Karasuno Training Academy wouldn’t be spent on Earth with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi; but would be spent in space with his _rival._

It was a normal day, Hinata attending his classes like he always did, except he was older now. 

He was twenty-three, wiser than he had been when he was just nineteen facing against a Kageyama Tobio who only knew of speed and agility.

“You’re going to be sent away,” a staff member (if Hinata was honest, he didn’t remember their name) said one day, disrupting him from his astrology class.

“Sent away?” Hinata asked, tilting his head. 

He wasn’t sure if this meant he was getting suspended, or if they just didn’t want him anymore. 

His chest tightened, he really did _not_ want to get sent away from the training academy. 

He felt his stomach churn slightly, Hinata trying to stand up straight in front of his higher up.

Perhaps it was the way Hinata spent four long years in the academy, the way that him staying this long was their breaking point. 

He feared for the worst.

Hinata wasn’t sure why, but he was still afraid of what would happen.

The staff member hummed. “You’ve been picked, along with a few others, to go on a special mission.”

Hinata jumped, not attempting to keep his professionalism. 

He guessed if he was a little unprofessional, the staff member he was talking to wouldn’t mind. 

“Ah! A special mission?” He asked, curious of what this entailed for him, no longer scared of anything bad that might happen.

“Yes,” they said. “You are to meet Commander Ukai for the briefing. You’ll be meeting with your team tomorrow as well, _Pilot.”_

Hinata brightened at the name used for him, bowing as the staff member left.

If anything, Hinata wasn’t expecting to be chosen for a special mission. 

He was excited, bouncing up and down and unable to sleep the day he was supposed to meet his team. 

He was going to show Kageyama he could reach space before Kageyama could, show Kageyama that he was worthy of being Karasuno’s best pilot.

Hinata smiled as he ran towards the briefing room where he was instructed to go, impatient to meet his team. 

He was, if anything, absolutely enthusiastic about the mission.

He hoped he was partnered with someone who understood his abilities, who he could trust.

He opened the doors to the briefing room. 

This was it, this was the day he’d _finally_ be able to show that jerk Kageyama and Tsukishima he was the best pilot in Karasuno. 

He’d go to space, he’d finally reach the stars, he’dー

“What are you doing here?” Hinata screamed, pointing at the only person in the briefing room.

The person’s eyes widened, realizing Hinata was in front of him. “Holy shit,” the person whispered.

Hinata couldn’t believe his eyes.

He was standing in front of _Kageyama Tobio,_ the person he hadn’t seen in _four_ years, who was still the most attractive person _ever._

Hinata took in the sight in front of him, trying not to gasp. 

Kageyama was much taller than he was when they were only nineteen. 

Hinata knew he’d grown a _bunch_ since he was nineteen, but his height was nowhere near Kageyama’s current height. 

He was so _tall._

The way his uniform was tighter around his chest made Hinata want to run back out of the briefing room and scream into his pillow, Kageyama had clearly been working out. 

Hinata tried not to stare at the muscles that peaked out of their academy’s tan uniform, the short sleeves not doing Kageyama any favors. 

The best he could do was stare at Kageyama’s orange tie around his neck, full of badges that he probably earned from the flying simulator. 

Not stare at his muscles, his undercut, his face, or his eyes (he _definitely_ couldn’t stare at those).

He looked more relaxed than when they first met, though his scowl was still the same as ever.

Kageyama’s face was also more refined, more grown up than what he used to look like. 

His cheek bones lined his face as if to give him a prestigious look, Hinata flushing as he realized he was staring way too much at Kageyama’s seemingly attractive face.

That didn’t stop him from looking, though.

Despite what he thought earlier, Hinata made eye contact with Kageyama, looking straight into his eyes.

They were the same dark midnight sky Hinata had never been able to reach, and that much was enough to make him irritated at the sight of him.

“Why are you here?” Hinata asked, rephrasing his previous question. “Don’t tell meー”

“I’ve been chosen, too,” Kageyama finished. “I’m the main pilot on this mission.”

Hinata’s eyes widened, mostly shocked than anything. “The _main_ pilot?” Hinata repeated, surprised.

“Yep, and you’re his backup.”

Hinata jumped, bumping into Kageyama slightly as he faced the person behind him. 

Kageyama steadied him, putting his hands on Hinata’s shoulders.

Hinata flushed at the touch, slipping away from Kageyama to look at the person in front of him.

Hinata stood a few feet away from Kageyama, letting out a small breath. “Uh, so…”

“I’m Commander Ukai,” the person introduced. 

Hinata and Kageyama bowed, causing Ukai to shake his head. “No need for the formalities. We need to send you two up into space to Mars as quickly as possible, so I’d like this to be over in a few minutes.”

“Why?” Kageyama asked before Hinata could even open his mouth to ask.

Ukai sighed, taking out a marker as he closed the door behind him. 

He started writing on the whiteboard close to the door, answering Kageyama’s question. “Well, we want to do a test run to make sure everything is going smoothly before we can send the other teams up to Mars. You two are in team one, so you’ll be our test run.”

“What do you mean _you two?_ _I_ have to work with _him?”_ Hinata asked, waving his finger as he pointed between him and Kageyama.

Ukai finished writing on the whiteboard, facing the two of them as he nodded.

"Yeah, Trainee Kageyama will be the main pilot and flight engineer, while you’re his backup pilot and mission specialist,” Ukai explained, crossing his arms. “Any objections?”

“Yes!” Kageyama and Hinata screamed at the exact same time.

Hinata rolled his eyes. “I won’t work with... with him! I can’t!”

“Me too,” Kageyama murmured. “I don’t want to work with him. He’s too _stubborn."_

“Hey!” Hinata shouted. “You are too, you don’t want to work with me either!”

Kageyama scowled. “You littleー”

“Okay, stop!” Ukai screamed, causing the two of them to jump backwards. “If you two don’t cooperate, I _will_ take you off this mission. Space won’t do well with people who can’t even stand each other.”

Hinata stilled. “Butー”

“Not buts, Trainee Hinata,” Ukai interrupted. “You two _will_ work together or you’ll be off the Mars mission. I’ll have to send a different team.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, putting a hand on Hinata’s shoulder as if to say _we’ll talk later._ “We’ll do it. We’ll work together.”

“Very well, Trainee Kageyama.” Ukai raised an eyebrow. “Trainee Hinata?”

Hinata felt Kageyama grip his shoulder slightly, not enough to exactly hurt but enough to get his point across.

“We’ll work together,” Hinata said reluctantly.

Kageyama removed his hand from Hinata’s shoulder, scowling as they both faced Ukai. 

Hinata sighed, it was unbelievable he was working with someone he didn’t even expect to see on this mission, let alone someone who stole the main pilot spot and was his _rival._

“Good, that’s all I wanted to hear.” Ukai put his hands together. “Trainee Hinata, you’ll be getting up early tomorrow to do a mission briefing with Mission Specialists Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji to get information you’ll pass over to Trainee Kageyama. You’re his mission specialist, do _not_ fuck this up.”

Great, now this special space mission not only involved the most stubborn person he’d ever met but also pressure to not fuck anything up. 

Hinata nodded, trying not to show how this seemed like a lot to put onto his shoulders.

“Right. When will we depart for Mars?” Hinata asked.

“Tomorrow,” Ukai responded, earning a gasp from the two rainees in front of him.

Kageyama frowned. “That’s a bit… too close?”

Ukai sighed, rubbing the top of his head. “I know, Trainee Kageyama,” he said, exasperated. “Nothing I can really control. Sorry this is so last minute, but it isn’t like you two have anything else to do. Just hope the pressure of this doesn’t collapse on you two.”

Hinata nodded, seeing Kageyama do the same from the corner of his eye. “Well, do you two have any questions?” Ukai asked.

Hinata spared a quick glance to Kageyama, who only glanced back. 

As if they both understood each other, they looked at Ukai. 

“No sir!” They both exclaimed at the same time.

Ukai hummed, a small smile forming on his mouth. “In sync already, huh? Well, good luck, you two. Get a good night's sleep, I look forward to tomorrow.”

Hinata and Kageyama raised an eyebrow, deciding not to question what Ukai said as they bowed. 

As soon as Ukai left the room and left the two of them together, Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s collar.

Kageyama brought Hinata closer to his face, and _fuck,_ he could see how blue Kageyama’s eyes were. 

He let out a quiet gasp as he took in Kageyama’s intense gaze, the midnight blue Hinata once saw faded into a lighter navy blue. 

He bit his lip as he realized Kageyama was saying something, tuning him in.

“ーdon’t want to work with you at all when we get to Mars, so just stay out of the way, okay? You’re only the mission specialist, anyway,” Kageyama gritted out between his teeth.

Hinata furrowed his eyebrows, what was this guy’s deal? “I… What? I’m not _just_ the mission specialist! I’m also your backup pilot, Kageyama!”

Kageyama scoffed. “And? Just let me handle everything. You don’t have to do anything besides tell me what we’re going to be doing.”

Hinata clenched his jaw, frowning.

He wasn’t sure why Kageyama was telling him that he didn’t want Hinata to do anything, but he wasn’t going to let Kageyama have his way.

“No way am I letting you do that! We have to work together! We agreed on that!”

Kageyama let go of Hinata’s collar, his eyebrows furrowing more than Hinata thought they could do at first. “Just let me handle everything. There won’t be anything wrong that way.”

“I’m not going to do anything wrong, Kageyama!” Hinata exclaimed. “Let me _help_ you.” 

Hinata winced slightly at his words, the words a little more aggressive than Hinata originally intended them to be. 

Kageyama frowned, his eyes dark with no emotion, like a midnight sky with no stars.

“I never asked for your help,” he said, immediately walking out of the briefing room, leaving Hinata.

Hinata sunk in on himself, letting out a shaky breath.

He put his head in his hands, groaning as he realized what this special mission entailed for him. 

He had to work with Kageyama Tobio (his rival that he hadn’t seen in _four_ years), was trusted with information that was confidential and important (what if he forgot the most important bits?), and would be going to _space_ (he’d never see any of his friends for probably _years)._

Even with all of that, one thought remained in his mind, and somehow, he knew Kageyama thought the exact same thing.

_How will I ever be able to work with that guy?_

~

Hinata woke up the next day feeling refreshed with a whole new mindset on the situation.

Perhaps it was the way Kageyama riled him up that made him a little angry yesterday or the way that he felt the pressure of being a mission specialist on this mission, he wasn’t sure what exactly riled him up.

He was feeling much better and had a whole new perspective. 

He didn’t know how long he had to spend with Kageyama on Mars, but he would make the most of it.

At the very least, he wanted to know Kageyama a little better. 

Even if Kageyama had walls up, he’d at least attempt to break them down.

Excited, he got up earlier than he had intended to and ate a little breakfast before hurriedly putting on the Karasuno Training Academy uniform.

He looked at himself in his bathroom mirror, buttoning up his tan dress shirt. 

He’d outgrown the uniform quite a bit (not as much as Kageyama did, he speculated), the dark grey pants not fitting as well as Hinata wanted. 

He grabbed his orange tie that looked _way_ too similar to his hair than he’d like and tied it around his neck for what would be the last time he’d ever wear the uniform.

He’d probably have to wear a spacesuit most of the time he was on Mars, or a simple t-shirt with overalls with sleeves inside of the ship. 

Whatever would happen, he’d miss the Karasuno uniform, wearing such a thing for four years of his entire life.

 _Well, no matter,_ Hinata thought. _Today marks the start of a new life._

And it probably would be his new life for a few months.

Time on Mars would be much different than it was on Earth. 

Hinata wasn’t sure if his life would change for the better or for the worst, but he wouldn’t let go of this life-changing opportunity.

Even if he had to work with Kageyama, who probably didn’t even want to work with Hinata in the first place and lied to Ukai about working together.

There was nothing that could scare him away from going to space.

Though, there was a voice inside of Hinata’s head telling him that Kageyama _did_ want to work with him, but something was amiss. 

That thought alone was enough to convince Hinata that working with Kageyama was something they had to overcome together, understanding each other as well as they could.

Working with Kageyama would be a challenge, but Hinata was determined. 

He wasn’t sure why one thought of Kageyama brought up all of _this,_ but he wasn’t going to let one Kageyama Tobio stop him from becoming Karasuno’s best pilot.

Also, Kageyama was really attractive and Hinata may have the slightest attraction towards him, but it didn’t matter. 

They weren’t even allowed to be dating other astronauts, staff members saying it was dangerous for such a thing to happen unless they got permission.

He’d push away the feelings and pretend they didn’t exist. 

Hinata bounced over to the briefing room, knowing that that was probably where Mission Specialists Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji wanted to talk to him about the mission. 

He knocked on the door, standing outside awkwardly as if to wait for someone to answer.

He adjusted the orange tie around his neck, gulping as the door opened, revealing the two trainees. 

“Hey!” The one with white hair with black at the ends (which Hinata thought was rather cool) exclaimed. “Are you Trainee Hinata?”

Hinata nodded. “Yep! You are…?”

“Mission Specialist Bokuto at your service!” Bokuto exclaimed. “This is my partner, Akaashi! He’ll be telling you most of the information that you’ll need to know!”

Hinata bowed to Akaashi, who gave him a small smile.

“I understand this is your first mission briefing, Trainee Hinata?” Akaashi asked, guiding him into the room.

The three of them sat down at the briefing table, Akaashi facing Hinata with the whiteboard right behind him, Bokuto sitting across from Hinata. 

Hinata remembered Akaashi’s question from earlier and nodded. “Ah, this is my first mission to space! I’m not really sure how mission briefings are supposed to go yet.”

Akaashi hummed, crossing his arms as he leaned back into the chair.

"Well, I’ll give you the basic explanation of how this will work. I’ll also tell you the details of this mission, like how long you’ll be in space and what you’ll be doing there. You’ll relay this information to Trainee Kageyama as you two head over to Mars, and will report information I'll tell you to report back to us using equipment in your spaceship,” Akaashi explained. 

Hinata nodded, he remembered learning about it in his class about being a mission specialist and from Yachi.

"Oh! I have a question!” Hinata exclaimed.

“Don't be afraid to ask us, Trainee!” Bokuto shouted. “Or, should I say Mission Specialist? Oh, Akaashi, you called Pilot Kageyama a trainee.”

“I apologize,” Akaashi said. “I’m used to calling them trainees, it seems.”

 _“Uwah,_ my title is Mission Specialist?” Hinata asked, smiling as he realized he’d have an official title. 

It wasn't a pilot like the staff member that told him about the mission called him, but it was a title he was glad to have.

Akaashi nodded in response to Hinata’s question, giving him a small smile. “Yeah. Are you ready to get the information? It’s a lot.”

Hinata nodded rapidly. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Mission Specialist Akaashi!”

“Woohoo! That’s what I like to hear!” Bokuto cheered.

Hinata beamed, him and Bokuto facing Akaashi as he started writing on the whiteboard. 

“So, as of now, there are four teams: there’s you and Pilot Kageyama as team one, Pilot Tsukishima Kei, Engineer Yamaguchi Tadashi, and Mission Specialist Yachi Hitoka as team two, Pilot Michimiya Yui, Engineer Sugawara, and Mission Specialist Sawamura as team three, and Pilot Azumane Asahi, Mission Specialist Nishinoya Yuu, and Engineer Shimizu Kiyoko as team four,” Akaashi explained.

Hinata gasped at the mention of Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi. 

It seemed they were going to go to Mars straight after he and Kageyama were, and he was excited the people he spent his four years at the academy with were going, too.

“Woah, so Kageyama and I are the first team to go?” Hinata asked, mostly to confirm what Ukai told him yesterday.

Akaashi nodded, circling the words “team one” on the whiteboard. “You two will be making sure that it’s safe enough for us to send the other teams over to Mars,” He started. 

“By doing so, you’ll also be responsible for reporting back to us _everything_ that happens. You two will be going on trips in a rover that will be provided with the ship to explore and collect data on land on Mars, as well as see how well agriculture will grow. Upon landing, the two of you will set up oxygen tents and make sure the ship has a constant supply of oxygen,” Akaashi informed.

“The two of you are also expected to see how long the water supply and oxygen supply will last and will be reporting how much of the two is left! From there, your stay on Mars will either be two Earth years to five,” Bokuto explained.

“Eh? Two to five years?” Hinata asked. “That’s a lot!”

Akaashi offered Hinata a small smile. “I know, we hardly send trainees like you and Pilot Kageyama first, but it seemed that Commander Ukai wanted you two to go first out of recommendation from Mission Specialist Sawamura. He’s seen the way you two work, apparently.”

“Oh, yeah!” Bokuto interjected. “Mission Specialist Sawamura said that he watched over you two and said you two would be amazing if you worked together!”

“Ah, really?” Hinata asked, thinking about how he and Kageyama hardly got along. “We didn’t even want to work together at first. We just agreed so we could go to space, I think.”

Akaashi chuckled. “Oh, Commander Ukai and Engineer Takeda were like that at first, too.”

Bokuto nodded, laughing. “Yeah, they didn’t like working together at all! Now, they’re inseparable, so I’m sure you and Pilot Kageyama will be fine!”

“Agreed,” Akaashi said, chuckling. “Do you need me to sum up the information, or are you good on what to report to Pilot Kageyama?”

Hinata shook his head.

He remembered most of it, and if he had trouble, he could always just ask Bokuto and Akaashi for the information again. 

“I’m good! Uh, what do I do now?” Hinata asked, tilting his head.

“Pilot Kageyama and Engineer Takeda should be at the ship right now,” Akaashi replied. “You’ll be going in a bit, I imagine.”

“Exciting!” Bokuto exclaimed. “Good luck to you two, I hope everything goes well!”

Hinata nodded, bowing to the two mission specialists as he stood up. “Thank you! I look forward to working with you two!” He smiled, grateful for all of their help.

Akaashi hummed, smiling back. “We look forward to working with you and Pilot Kageyama, too.”

With a bow, Hinata exited the briefing room, rushing towards where all the spaceships were. 

He hadn’t been inside of the room before, but he could see inside it from the glass windows, and he was always amazed by the amount of ships inside.

He walked in, spotting Kageyama in his spacesuit standing next to Engineer Takeda. 

Hinata tried to avoid looking at Kageyama and instead waved to Takeda, who waved back and smiled at him as he approached the two.

“Mission Specialist Hinata! Did you finish your mission briefing with Mission Specialist Akaashi and Mission Specialist Bokuto?” Takeda asked, Hinata ignoring the way Kageyama turned his eyes away from Hinata.

Hinata nodded, bowing. “Are we going… now?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama answered, no longer avoiding Hinata’s gaze as if he just realized he had to make an effort to work with Hinata. “You aren’t in your spacesuit,” he commented, raising an eyebrow.

Hinata rolled his eyes, meeting Kageyama’s eyes. “Well, I just finished a mission briefing, I didn’t have _time_ to change, _Pilot,”_ Hinata shot back.

Even if it had been a day since their titles were assigned, Hinata wished he was a pilot like Kageyama.

He decided not to voice this, and stayed quiet as Kageyama’s expression changed into a scowl.

“Then go do it,” Kageyama hissed, but Hinata could tell from the way Kageyama’s voice lowered that he was trying not to sound like he was irritated, because he really wasn't. 

Hinata gave Kageyama a small smile, deciding not to remark back.

Though, Hinata wouldn’t lie if he was asked if he could feel the tension between the two of them. 

It was extremely awkward to say the least. He could tell that Takeda sensed the tension, too.

Takeda sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, after Mission Specialist Hinata changes into his spacesuit, you two will be good to go to space. Good luck, former trainees.”

~

As they reached Mars, Hinata felt dreary from sitting and not doing _anything._

He didn't even talk to Kageyama unless he needed to, the tension between them way more intense than it was on Earth.

He was also very _impressed_ with Kageyama’s piloting.

He wasn’t going to tell Kageyama that, wasn’t going to even admit it to Ukai or Takeda, but he was absolutely amazed by the way Kageyama flew the space ship. 

It was no wonder he was one of the best, yet reckless, pilots Karasuno had.

With that, he refrained from telling Kageyama about the mission. 

He knew he was supposed to be the mission specialist, having to tell Kageyama all the information he had, but it wasn't like Kageyama asked.

He was a little melodramatic with not telling Kageyama anything about the mission, but the tension between them made Hinata not want to speak in fear that they would burst into another fight that Ukai or someone else couldn’t stop.

“Are you sleeping?” Kageyama asked as they reached Mars, breaking the tense silence and looking over to Hinata.

Hinata only let out a small breath, scoffing as he met Kageyama’s gaze. “No. I guess I should give you the mission details now?”

“Yeah, guess so,” Kageyama huffed. “It's not like you had this entire trip to tell me what we’re doing.”

Hinata rolled his eyes. He didn't want to agitate Kageyama further, but he couldn't help but tease. “It isn't like you asked, Kageyama-kun.”

Kageyama bit his lip, as if he was stopping himself from responding. 

“It’s your job to tell me, isn’t it?” He asked, his tone as if he was unsure if those were the right words to say.

Hinata sighed, the mission came first before his feelings towards Kageyama, whatever they were. 

He had to tell him about the mission eventually, anyway. 

“You can tell me as we get suited up to go out,” Kageyama huffed, removing his seatbelt and facing Hinata. “You know how to do that, right?”

Hinata fought the urge to roll his eyes, nodding as he and Kageyama made eye contact. 

Of course he knew how to put on the helmet to his spacesuit, it was one of the first things they were taught.

Kageyama let out a small breath, standing up as soon as Hinata looked away to remove his seatbelt. 

Hinata huffed, standing up and walking to Kageyama.

"We’re expected to go on rovers to collect data here on Mars as well as see how long our water and oxygen supply can last up here. We’ll report it back to Mission Specialists Akaashi and Bokuto at the end of every day,” Hinata explained.

Kageyama hummed, glancing at Hinata. “How long are we staying here?”

“Two years to five,” Hinata replied.

“In Earth years, I assume?”

Hinata nodded, grabbing his helmet. “We need to set up oxygen tents, too!”

Kageyama reached over to Hinata’s arm, pushing it down. “I don’t need help setting up the oxygen tents. You go report to the other mission specialists that we made it safe and sound.”

Hinata shook his head. “No, let me _help_ you. There is literally no harm in that! We’ll get it done faster!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, putting on his helmet. “It wouldn’t matter. Just let me do it alone.”

Hinata sighed, he had enough of Kageyama’s _Batman_ impersonation. “Let me help. Unless, you think I’m not capable of doing it?”

Kageyama shook his head. “That’s not it,” Kageyama huffed. “I know you’re trying to challenge me, but it won’t fucking work.”

“Then what is it?” Hinata asked, waving his arms around. “Why don’t you want me to help?”

“Becauseー”

“Do you realize our mission will be in _vain?”_ Hinata interrupted, unsure why he was even initiating the fight with Kageyama. 

All he wanted was to work with him, the person he had to spend nearly three years with, so why was he being so stubborn?

“We’re the first people on Mars and all you want to do is _work alone?”_

Kageyama frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I don’t _want_ your help. I can do this by myself, and you can do whatever task you want to do by yourself. We don’t need to work together,” Kageyama hissed, making it clear to Hinata that he was rather tired of this conversation.

As if Kageyama had to have it many times before ever going to space.

That wouldn’t do, Hinata knew their teamwork was important if they wanted this to work. 

He had to try if Kageyama wasn’t going to attempt to let his walls down. 

“We have to work together!” He exclaimed. “We’re a _team_ Kageyama, you aren’t in this alone.”

“And?” Kageyama asked. “I told you, Hinata, I can do this myself. So, why don’t you just report to Earth that we’re here? Unless, you can’t?”

“Don’t you dare question if I can do my job,” Hinata hissed, not liking the turn their conversation had taken.

Before he could say anymore, Kageyama scowled and walked out of the ship, going to set up the oxygen tents. 

Hinata sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Pilot Kageyama… I swear,” he whispered to himself, already questioning his partnership with Kageyama in the first few minutes they reached Mars. 

He removed his spacesuit seeing as there was no reason to go outside, and put on the black space overalls with sleeves the ship had provided the two of them and a white t-shirt that had a tiny tiger in the corner of it. 

He tied the sleeves of the overalls to his waist, the ship a little hot and steamy on the inside.

Then, Hinata got an idea.

“Ah!” He whisper-shouted, running over to the main room of the ship to get their packages of food. 

As an apology for his small fight with Kageyama, he’d make a little meal for them to eat before they went to sleep.

Hinata just wanted his partnership with Kageyama to work, even if it would take some time. 

As he prepared whatever dry food he and Kageyama would eat once Kageyama came back from setting up the tents, he thought about his conversation with Kageyama the day before they made it to Mars.

He wasn't sure about why Kageyama wanted to work alone, let alone him being so insistent on it. 

Hinata didn’t want to pry, but he also wanted to know why Kageyama was shutting him out. 

It hardly was a day since they made it to the unexplored planet, but Hinata was already dreading the rest of the mission.

As Hinata was waiting for the meals to be made, he went over to the other side of the main room where there was a control station. 

From there, Hinata attempted to contact Earth, pressing a few buttons before getting a signal from Earth. 

Hinata pressed on the signal, smiling as soon as Bokuto and Akaashi’s faces popped up on the big screen.

“Hey, Mission Specialist Hinata!” Bokuto greeted, waving at Hinata.

Akaashi did the same, in which Hinata waved back to the two of them.

“Hi! Pilot Kageyama and I reached Mars safe and sound, nothing wrong with the ship whatsoever! We will probably be patrolling the area and setting up the water tanks tomorrow,” Hinata reported.

Akaashi nodded. “That’s good to hear. Where’s Pilot Kageyama?”

Hinata frowned a bit, eyebrows furrowing. “He’s setting up the oxygen tents.”

Bokuto tilted his head, as if he was confused. “Shouldn’t you be helping him?” Bokuto asked.

Hinata crossed his arms, pouting. “I would! If he’d just let me help! He’s so stubborn.”

Akaashi huffed, smiling fondly. “Ah, well, I know a bit about Pilot Kageyama. He’ll let you help eventually, you know. There’s a lot of things people face in everyday life, and it can affect us more than we know.”

“That’s right, Hinata!” Bokuto exclaimed. “Pilot Kageyama will come around, but that means you have to, too. That’s the beauty of partnerships!”

Akaashi nodded, putting his arm around Bokuto, pulling him closer. “That’s right. I’ll leave you with this, Mission Specialist Hinata; it will take time, but you are both resilient. Working together, fighting, making up, it will all strengthen your relationship.

“You and Pilot Kageyama have the potential to be the greatest partners of all time. The only thing stopping you both from achieving that are things you don’t understand yet. But once you understand, you’ll achieve what you’ve always wanted to do together,” Akaashi said, pushing up his glasses as he finished.

Hinata stood agape, processing Akaashi’s words.

Bokuto then spoke up, adding onto Akaashi’s words. “It won’t be easy for sure! Commander Ukai and Engineer Takeda were yelling nonstop at each other until they found an equal ground, one they could work on together. Now, they're Karasuno’s best known astronauts! It takes time and patience!”

Hinata nodded, understanding Bokuto and Akaashi’s words. 

He smiled at the two of them, happy for the advice they had given. “Thank you!” He exclaimed, bowing.

Bokuto grinned. “It’s no problem! If you have any troubles with Pilot Kageyama or the ship, you know where to find us!”

Akaashi hummed. “The best of luck to you, Mission Specialist Hinata. We look forward to receiving reports from you and Pilot Kageyama for the next two years.”

Hinata beamed. “I’ll be happy to provide those for you, Mission Specialist Akaashi and Mission Specialist Bokuto!”

“That’s what I like to hear, Mission Specialist Hinata!” Bokuto exclaimed. “Keep our advice in mind, and have fun!”

With that, the call ended, Hinata sighing in relief. 

He didn’t expect it to be that quick, but it made sense.

They just reached Mars, and all he had to do was call and tell them what he and Kageyama were doing.

He went back to preparing his and Kageyama’s meals, humming to himself as he thought about his next two years on a planet that was warm and full of mystery.

“What are you doing?”

Hinata jumped a little, surprised by Kageyama’s sudden voice.

He turned around, smiling. 

Kageyama wasn’t in his spacesuit anymore and was instead wearing a black t-shirt with sweatpants, not the space overalls they had been given. 

Hinata wasn’t lying when he thought Kageyama’s muscles were… intriguing to look at. 

He knew he was blushing, so he decided not to comment on it. “Uwah, Kageyama! I made um… meals. For, you know. Before we sleep later.”

Kageyama hummed. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “Uh… you look, er, good.”

Hinata raised an eyebrow. There was no way this was the same Kageyama Tobio he landed on Mars with.

"Are you… complimenting me?” Hinata asked, skeptical of Kageyama’s words.

Kageyama nodded, averting his eyes away from Hinata. “You… the overalls. It’s cute.”

Hinata stood in front of the food he prepared, his mouth agape. 

He was surprised, if anything, that Kageyama called him _cute._

It was baffling, how his entire demeanor changed in the few moments he was gone setting up oxygen tents.

Hinata didn’t exactly know what to say, he felt flattered someone as attractive as Kageyama was calling him cute, but he also was in shock of Kageyama’s complete change in demeanor. 

Maybe setting up oxygen tents and leaving Kageyama to his thoughts was a good thing to do.

Kageyama must’ve noticed the awkward silence between them and spoke up. “Ignore what I said. Let’s… eat.”

Hinata nodded, knowing it would be something on his mind for a while that he just _couldn't_ ignore.

He passed Kageyama the meal he made, which was spaghetti. 

They were provided with ovens to heat the food, and with food like spaghetti, all they had to do was add water to a package that contained said food. 

It was simple, something they had to do everyday for the next two years or so.

They ate in silence in the main room, not really having room to lounge around. 

They leaned on one of the cabinets that had the food and ate, the silence a little unbearable to Hinata. 

He wasn’t sure what to say to Kageyama, especially since he was acting completely different.

As Hinata was finishing up his spaghetti, he felt Kageyama’s gaze on him. 

He let out a small breath and looked up to Kageyama questionably. “Kageyama-kun?” He asked, tilting his head.

Kageyama grit his teeth, glancing from his finished spaghetti package to Hinata’s face.

“I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean to… to shut you out. I want to try to work with you,” Kageyama admitted, averting his eyes to avoid looking at Hinata’s reaction.

Hinata’s eyes widened, beaming as the words processed in his head. “Ah, Kageyama! Really?”

Kageyama nodded, making eye contact with Hinata. “Yeah. I thought about it while setting up the oxygen tents and… I think we should start over.”

Hinata chuckled, putting his package of finished spaghetti down on the table and held out his fist to Kageyama.

“I’m Mission Specialist Hinata Shouyou, let’s be the best partners we can be out here.”

Kageyama snorted, connecting his fist to Hinata’s in a successful fistbump, a promise made.

“Pilot Kageyama Tobio. Let’s do what we can.”

~

The next day came by sooner than Hinata thought it would, his alarm clock blaring noises early into the day.

He and Kageyama had retired to their respective rooms after they ate, Hinata falling asleep as soon as he hit the sheets.

He and Kageyama ate a quick meal of dried and not dried fruits accompanied by almonds and coffee, Kageyama grumbling about how they didn’t have any milk. 

Hinata laughed, he didn’t expect Kageyama to be so bummed out to not have any milk.

Maybe when they went back to Earth, Hinata would get Kageyama some. 

It’d be two or more long years without milk, anyway. 

He deserved it for having to go so long without something he seemed like he missed.

After eating their meal, the two of them went over to the Mars rover that was so graciously provided for them. 

They had agreed to patrol the area and make sure weird creatures weren’t out to get them, as well as try to get familiar with the area. 

They both hardly fit into the rover together, their shoulders touching as their spacesuits and helmets squished into each other. 

It wasn’t that uncomfortable, but it was weird to be pressed so close to Kageyama.

After some time of driving around in it, Hinata was used to the proximity, and he could tell Kageyama was, too. 

They weren’t mumbling about how awkward it was to be so close anymore, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence as Kageyama drove them around, Hinata mapping down whatever he saw on their electronic map on the rover.

Hinata started to mumble as he took down whatever he saw, whether it be rocks or some cool hole he saw. 

He supposed Kageyama wouldn’t mind if he started to randomly talk about himself, perhaps it was one sided team bonding.

“I have a little sister,” he started. “Her name is Natsu! She’s just like summer, warm and full of sunshine. She helped me get to Karasuno, actually. She believed in me a lot, and said I would be her favorite astronaut ever!”

Kageyama hummed, allowing Hinata to continue talking. 

He talked about the rest of his family, how his father was absent for most of his life and how his mother took care of him and his sister.

Hinata then talked about Karasuno, how he was friends with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi and how they were all in team two. 

They were the only people he seemed to talk to at Karasuno, and they were people he could depend on.

They were good astronauts, Hinata knew at least that much.

He then went on about space, how he always thought it was fascinating to look at and often wondered what other planets and stars would lie in the space above them. 

Hinata, in the middle of it all, wondered if Kageyama had been listening to all he was saying.

He noticed that Kageyama would hum, snort, or click his tongue every so often to respond to what Hinata said, a sign he was listening to everything Hinata was talking about.

He smiled at that, happy Kageyama had been listening to every word he had said. 

His reactions were enough to get Hinata to continue talking about things as he listed every space rock he saw.

Kageyama glanced over at Hinata curiously as he finished a thought, looking at the map.

"There’s only been rocks so far?” Kageyama asked.

Hinata nodded. “Yeah, and some holes here and there. Weren’t you looking?”

Kageyama shrugged. “Not really. I was paying attention to you, dumbass.”

Hinata wasn’t expecting Kageyama to say _that._

Hinata flushed, facing away from Kageyama and clearing his throat. “Well! That was uneventful. What should we do?”

Kageyama stopped the rover and thought for a bit. “Well, we should start the farm. We need to keep track of our water supply and make sure plants can grow here, right?”

Hinata nodded. “Yep! Ah, should we try to look for a water supply, too? We don’t know if Mars has any water, right?”

Kageyama hummed. “Yeah. I’ll start the farm, you can go look for a water supply. I’ll also check the ship and see if it needs any repairs.”

“Eh? How are you going to get back?” Hinata asked.

They were a little far from the ship, there was no way Hinata was going to let Kageyama walk back on his own. 

That was exactly what Kageyama had answered, though. “I’ll walk back. You can take the rover to look for water.”

“Nope, no!” Hinata exclaimed. “You can take the rover back to the ship. I’ll walk!”

Kageyama shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. “What if you get lost?”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “What if _you_ get lost?”

Kageyama let out a small breath, narrowing his eyes at Hinata. “Hinata, just take the rover. I know my way back.”

Hinata crossed his arms, shaking his head once again. “Nope! You’re taking the rover, Kageyama-kun. You’re already driving it. Plus, I don’t know how to drive it, what if I crash it?”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. “You don’tー” He cut himself off, sighing. “I’ll teach you later. You better remind me to.”

Hinata batted his eyelashes at Kageyama, smiling teasingly. “Aw, that’s so sweet! I didn’t expect you to be so kind, Yamayama-kun!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes. “Dumbass, I’m starting to regret wanting to work with you,” Kageyama huffed, a teasing tone behind his sarcasm.

That only made Hinata smile, patting Kageyama’s back. “Then, it’s settled! Meet you back on the ship, Kageyama?”

Kageyama hummed. “Meet you on the ship. Now get off.”

Hinata chuckled. “If you insist.”

Kageyama snorted, rolling his eyes as he drove away from Hinata. 

Hinata felt a warm feeling in his chest as he watched Kageyama drive away. 

He roamed the area, not losing track of where he was, and not finding any source of water.

Frustrated after a few moments of searching, he opted to go back to the ship. 

It was quite a long walk, he’d probably look for water on his way back. 

Maybe he’d explore the few holes that were littered across the planet’s floor.

Hinata walked around the red planet, the most interesting thing being a weirdly shaped rock. 

There were no sources of water, caves, or anything interesting about the landscape. 

It was mostly flat land, dust sweeping across the planet as Hinata walked around idly.

After what felt like the longest walk of his entire life, he reached the ship, entering through one of the oxygen tents. 

He took off his helmet, breathing in the ship’s amazing oxygen he missed so very much, and put on the space overalls. 

He did what he did the day before, put it on over a shirt (this time, it was dark grey with a tiny moon in the corner), tying the sleeves to his waist. 

He realized Kageyama’s overalls were no longer in the room, meaning Kageyama was wearing them.

Hinata smiled, walking over to the main room.

Realizing Kageyama was probably starting the farm, he roamed over to another oxygen tent, spotting Kageyama.

He was bent over, seemingly planting something as Hinata approached, opening the door to the oxygen tent and walking in.

 _“Uwah,_ Kageyama!” Hinata exclaimed, Kageyama turning around to face him. “This is so cool! Now we won’t have to eat dry food for the next two years!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, shrugging. “I guess. I’m just following protocol.”

Hinata agreed, nodding.

He couldn’t help but find the farm amazing, especially how Kageyama did it all while Hinata was out walking and finding nothing. 

“Ah, but you’re the coolest, Kageyama! This is so awesome!” Hinata shouted, continuing to look around the farm in amazement.

Kageyama scoffed, crossing his arms as he looked away from Hinata as if he was surprised by Hinata’s words. “Right. Sure. Thanks. Dumbass. I’ll go and uh… check on the ship and see if it needs repairs. You go prepare our lunch and report what we did to Earth or whatever you do.”

Hinata nodded, grinning as he and Kageyama walked out of the oxygen tent together. 

Kageyama entered the control room as Hinata went over to the main room to look at the food they had.

After Hinata managed to prepare a decent lunch (he was sure Kageyama would like the packaged chicken and tea they had), he went over to the other side of the main room to contact Akaashi and Bokuto about the mission. 

He supposed today was a good day, only being the second time he’d been awake on Mars.

Sure, it was hotter than a desert and Kageyama was being a pain in the ass, but they were working on it.

Hinata supposed that was progress.

He accepted the signal on the screen, Bokuto on the other side waving. “Hey, Mission Specialist Hinata! This is an early report!”

Hinata nodded, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, we’re still getting used to things!” 

Hinata then looked around the room Bokuto was in, noticing it wasn’t the briefing room that he and Akaashi were in yesterday.

"Uh, where are you? That’s not the briefing room…”

"I know!” Bokuto exclaimed, moving to the side to reveal a bed behind him. “This is the room I share with Akaashi! We were just headed to bed!”

Hinata’s eyes widened. “Oh! Sorry to bother you, I’ll report another time, orー”

“It’s fine!” Bokuto interrupted. “We have to report the times you report to us to Commander Ukai, so just say what you need to.”

Hinata nodded, recounting the things he and Kageyama did. “Ah, we went outside with the rover and made a map of rocks and holes and whatever… Then Kageyama went back to the ship to farm! I went searching for a water supply, but didn’t find anything!”

Bokuto hummed. “Where’s Pilot Kageyama right now? Are you hiding him away from us, Hinata?”

Hinata laughed, crossing his arms. “Maybe!” He exclaimed. “He’s actually checking the ship to see if it needs any repairs.”

“Oh! Tell Pilot Kageyama to report that to us later,” Bokuto said. “It seems everything is going great! Especially your teamwork with him.”

Hinata looked away sheepishly, nodding. “I guess so… We sort of talked it out a little yesterday.” 

Talking about it might have been an overstatement, but Hinata supposed he wasn’t wrong.

“Great! It’s nice to see you two are finally getting along,” Bokuto said, giving Hinata a thumbs up. “See you later, Mission Specialist Hinata!”

Hinata waved, giving Bokuto a small smile. “See you, Mission Specialist Bokuto!”

Bokuto ended the call as soon as Kageyama walked into the room, hearing Hinata let out a big sigh. 

Being a mission specialist really took a lot out of him, especially since he just wanted to _pilot_ for once.

“There’s nothing wrong with the ship,” Kageyama announced as they both walked to the other side of the main room together, looking at the meals Hinata prepared for the both of them.

“Mission Specialist Bokuto said to report that to him later,” Hinata said, taking a bite of the chicken.

It wasn’t so bad, for being in a package.

Kageyama hummed, drinking the tea Hinata prepared for both of them. “Will do.”

The two of them proceeded to eat in a comfortable silence, Hinata content with the tiny system they had set up for the day. 

They hadn’t fought, it was more of playful banter between them, and Hinata rather enjoyed it.

He sunk his teeth into the chicken, smiling to himself as he caught Kageyama glancing at him from the corner of his eye. 

Maybe, just _maybe,_ they could make things work.

~

A few weeks went by, exactly how Hinata expected them to go. 

They continued their small system of exploring Mars on a rover after eating breakfast (Kageyama also taught Hinata how to drive it, too), farming, checking water supply, checking oxygen supply, running calculations on Mars’ atmosphere, reporting all that they were doing to Bokuto and Akaashi, and then going to bed.

They hardly mentioned much about their personal lives, their days mostly consisted of Kageyama and Hinata’s playful banter and occasional compliments.

It was something Hinata was fine with, they weren’t exactly aiming to know everything about each other, they were just partners on a space mission in Mars.

They warmed up to each other, and Hinata thought the next year or a few wouldn’t be so bad.

Hinata was rather bored the morning things went to complete shit. 

He noticed Kageyama wasn’t in the main room at the moment, either still sleeping or at the oxygen tents fixing something up. 

He looked around the ship, looking for something to do.

Hinata strolled around, looking at the white walls of the ship and at the cabinets that lined the walls that were full of packages of food. 

He decided to go over to the cabinets and see how much food supply they had left.

Considering that there were only two people in the ship, the cabinets were filled to the top with packaged food they had to warm up or add water to, as well as including fruits and brownies and many other things that didn’t need water. 

Hinata opened each cabinet, looking at their surplus of food.

Hinata then realized there was a lot since he and Kageyama would spend at least two years on Mars, sighing to himself as he continued to look through the cabinets. 

If Kageyama walked in on him just randomly looking, he’d certainly be judged relentlessly by Kageyama.

“Woah,” Hinata whispered to himself as he opened a cabinet, one full of magazines rather than packaged food. 

He pulled out the pile of magazines, realizing they all were about Karasuno and their students.

He flipped through a few pages of a few magazines, uninterested with the contents. 

Sure, it was full of Karasuno alumni that probably now worked at Japan’s space station which was fascinating, but Hinata just mindlessly skimmed through the pages.

He’d pause every once in a while if he saw Pilot Udai Tenma or Commander Ukai and Engineer Takeda in their younger days, but otherwise skipped most of what the magazines seemed to say.

That was until he found a picture of Kageyama and gasped, pausing on the page to look. 

He was next to two other people, the three of them in a spacesuit as if they were about to depart to space.

 _“Holy shit,”_ Hinata breathed out, flipping through the magazine to read what it had said about Kageyama and the two other people next to him. 

He took in Kageyama’s face, how it looked much younger than when he first met him at Karasuno.

He guessed this was made before they met, meaning that Kageyama was an incredibly amazing pilot at this day and age. 

Hinata couldn’t help but look surprised as he read how the magazine praised Kageyama and his crew’s skills, how they were absolutely amazing at what they did and succeeded in the field more often than not.

His eyes widened in recognition when he realized the name of the article next to the picture of Kageyama and the others. 

It was called “The King of Space,” featuring Kageyama Tobio, Kunimi Akira, and Kindaichi Yuutarou. 

Hinata, intrigued, started reading the article and its entirety. 

The beginning was mostly introductions of the three astronauts, and how they were chosen from Aoba Johsai High School to be part of Karasuno as their youngest trainees to go on a special mission to the moon.

“Amazing,” Hinata let out, surprised by Kageyama’s seemingly amazing track record. 

He already knew Kageyama was _awesome,_ there was a lot Hinata wished he could do that Kageyama did, but reading an article about it made it more admirable and inspiring.

Then, the article took a turn for the worst. 

After introducing the three astronauts that would ultimately make history, it was revealed that things didn’t go as planned.

Hinata had to read the section over and over again, surprised by the incident that occured. 

He read it quietly to himself, still in shock of the news.

“Pilot Kageyama Tobio, Engineer Kindaichi Yuutarou, and Mission Specialist Kunimi Akira went on a test run before the official mission,” Hinata started.

“The test run failed, Pilot Kageyama Tobio almost crashed the ship as Engineer Kindaichi Yuutarou and Mission Specialist Kunimi Akira argued with him about the ship’s controls. 

“The three of them were rushed to the hospital after the crash, all believed to be able to continue their work as astronauts. They are officially off the mission and will be replaced by Pilot Michimiya Yui, Engineer Shimizu Kiyoko, and Mission Specialist Sawamura Daichi.”

Hinata gasped as he finished reading, frowning as the news processed in his head. 

Kageyama being in a ship crash was terrifying to think about, especially in such an early state.

He continued to read on, seeing as Kunimi and Kindaichi were interviewed right after they got better.

They both commented on one thing that made Hinata’s eyebrows furrow, knowing they exaggerated such a statement.

They called Kageyama “The King of Space” who didn’t seem to want to follow orders from others and claimed to know what he was doing. 

The article brushed it off, making it seem like Kageyama wasn’t the best person to be around.

Hinata frowned, they completely misunderstood Kageyama. 

He just needed someone to open up to, to trust, and people didn’t seem to understand that. 

Hinata’s chest tightened a little from such a thought, wondering if that was how Kageyama was feeling when he realized he would have to work with someone again. 

Wondering if Kageyama thought the same thing would happen, wondering if Kageyama ever got asked if he was _okay_ after the incident.

“Hey, dumbass, what are you doing?”

Hinata jumped slightly at the voice, letting the magazine he was holding fall to the ground. 

He turned around, seeing Kageyama’s confused expression. 

“Good morning to you too, Kageyama-kun!” Hinata greeted, trying to hide the magazine by kicking it towards the cabinet.

Kageyama hummed, mumbling a greeting before his eyes fell onto the magazine on the floor that Hinata was kicking. “You didn’t answer my question. Also, you overslept.”

Hinata chuckled nervously. “Ah, well, I set my alarm wrong yesterday.”

He averted his eyes from Kageyama’s, still unsure how to tell Kageyama that he was looking at something Kageyama hadn’t felt the need to tell him about. “And I was looking for meals! Yeah, meals. For us to eat.”

Kageyama nodded, raising an eyebrow with skepticism. “Right. What are you doing on the floor reading magazines?”

Hinata sighed, there was no way out of telling Kageyama what he was doing. “Well, I was sort of bored! And I started looking through the cabinets and I found magazines.”

Kageyama hummed, looking a little confused but otherwise didn’t seem to mind. “I just checked the farm. Everything seems to be going okay.”

“Ah! That’s amazing!” Hinata exclaimed, because it really was amazing, but the thought of Kageyama’s past experience filled his head, causing him to frown.

He could tell Kageyama was about to press and ask if something was wrong, so Hinata decided to speak up. “I read about you and your failed test run for the moon mission.”

Kageyama stilled at this, his eyes narrowing as he made eye contact with Hinata. “You… what?” Kageyama asked, seemingly more confused than angry.

Hinata bent down, picking up the magazine and giving it to Kageyama as an explanation. 

Kageyama took the magazine and skimmed through the article, frowning as he continued further down the article. 

“You shouldn’t have read this,” Kageyama hissed. He looked back to Hinata, an unreadable expression on his face. 

All Hinata knew was that he never wanted to see Kageyama with such an expression again, but he couldn’t help but press the issue like the stubborn person he was.

"You can’t hide your past from me, Kageyama, I was going to find out eventually.”

Kageyama scoffed. “It isn’t your place to know every single thing about me.”

“It can be!” Hinata exclaimed. “Especially when it’s written in a _magazine_ reporting on events in Karasuno!”

Kageyama put the magazine down, crossing his arms, his expression still unreadable. “Well, congratulations, Hinata. Now you know what a fuck up I am.”

Hinata winced at the tone Kageyama used, full of aggression towards himself.

"That’s not what I learned,” Hinata said before he had a chance to think about what he wanted to say to Kageyama.

“Oh?” Kageyama asked. “What did you learn?”

Hinata didn’t miss the way Kageyama’s voice became more breathy, as if he didn’t want to even know himself. 

“Your selfishness ruined what you and your team could’ve done,” Hinata let out as slowly as possible, unsure of how to word what he was saying. “You messed up what little trust your crew had in you.”

Hinata winced at what he said, looking up at Kageyama.

 _That_ was poorly worded.

“Wait, that isn't—”

As if Kageyama didn’t expect Hinata to say that, his eyes widened, surprised yet seemingly angry.

"I fucking know that,” he said, his voice cracking upon the last word. “That’s why I prefer to work alone and not with dumbasses like you.”

Hinata frowned, he wasn’t sure what to say to that. 

But he knew the words that came out of his mouth were harsh, something that would stay in Kageyama’s own mind for a long time.

“Why did you crash the ship?” He decided to ask.

Kageyama scowled, his tone hushed and hurt. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Selfishness and thinking you know everything does that to you.”

Before Hinata could say anymore, Kageyama shot a glare at him. “I don’t need your pity. This is none of your business.”

“Uh, it kind of is!” Hinata refuted. “You’re still my partner and this isn't pityー”

“No,” Kageyama interrupted. “I’ll report to Mission Specialist Bokuto and Akaashi that we’ll be going back as soon as we get permission.”

 _“What?”_ Hinata asked, gritting his teeth.

He wasn’t going to let Kageyama send the two of them home, not when they were doing so well. “You’re just going to send us back?”

Kageyama’s scowl deepened. “I don’t want to work with you anymore.”

“You’re lying,” Hinata accused. “Just because I found out about who you _were?”_ Hinata asked, exasperated and in surprise Kageyama would do such a thing.

“Just because I wanted to know more about you? We can move past this!”

“You could’ve _asked,”_ Kageyama hissed. “I don’t care if you know about what happened. I don’t care if you think of me differently. But, you and I both know we can’t go back to working together like this. You look like you just found out I murdered someone.”

Hinata didn’t deny that this changed most of what he thought of Kageyama. 

But, Kageyama just needed the right words said to him, and that much was enough to make him want to stay. 

“You know that isn’t you anymore, right?” Hinata asked. “You’ve learned. You’ve grown.”

“Iー” Kageyama cut himself off, averting his eyes away from Hinata. “I need to think. I… Yeah. I need to think.”

Before Hinata could stop him, Kageyama stormed out of the main room and into the oxygen tent that led to the outside of the ship. 

He supposed it was fair, Kageyama needed time to process that his partner in space just found out that he could’ve died with two other people and was afraid of facing his title of “The King of Space” knowing he didn’t want it. 

Hinata would let Kageyama have the space he needed, after all, they had a little argument on the issue. 

Then, whenever Kageyama decided to return, they’d have a conversation on it and Hinata would ask Kageyama if he really didn’t want to be on the mission with him anymore.

He spent the whole day doing what he would normally split up with Kageyama: farming, checking the water supply, checking the ship for any needed repairs, running the calculations they needed on Mars’ atmosphere, and reporting to Akaashi and Bokuto.

Hinata was completely exhausted at the end of the day, having to do everything that was normally split up between the two of them. 

He suspected it was the farming that took the most out of him, he had to harvest some of what grew and make sure it was all okay, as well as the calculations.

It didn’t seem like much, but without Kageyama, it was way too much for Hinata to do on his own. 

His head hurt, struggling to keep his eyes open as he went to eat dinner.

Hinata decided to make a meal for Kageyama as he made one for himself, having spent a few hours without seeing Kageyama. 

When it became obvious Kageyama wasn’t returning for the night, Hinata made a tiny breakfast for him in case he wanted to eat something that wasn’t normally for dinner.

He fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion as he reached his bed, unsure of the upcoming days as a question he thought he’d answered long ago appeared in his head once again.

_How will I ever be able to work with that guy?_

~

Hinata awoke the next day, feeling completely and utterly _horrible._

He opened his eyes, attempting to move his body a bit before feeling a dull ache in his head and his limbs. 

He sighed, hoping Kageyama hadn’t come back yet to see him in such a state.

He felt hot and sweaty, his face flushed. 

He was so _tired,_ he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get out of bed.

To his surprise, he was able to stand up on his otherwise aching limbs and walk very slowly out of his own room and into the main room, spotting Kageyama throwing away a package. 

Hinata assumed it was the breakfast he decided to make him the night before, smiling to himself as he slowly reached Kageyama.

He walked to the cabinet that the two of them knew had the medicine for common colds, Kageyama not acknowledging Hinata as he pulled out pain relievers.

He watched from the corner of his eye as Kageyama walked away to the oxygen tent that contained the farm, sighing in relief as he took the pain relievers for his aching body.

Hinata let out a shaky breath as he looked at the cabinets before him. 

He decided against making breakfast for himself, he didn’t feel too hungry, especially with the dull ache in his bones.

He decided to stroll back to his room, not able to hold himself up after standing around for too long. 

He felt so _weak,_ he wasn’t even sure why.

He collapsed on his bed as soon as he reached it, immediately going under the covers as his aching body started to shiver. 

Hinata sighed, closing his eyes as he felt more pain in his head. 

He knew the pain relievers wouldn’t work right away, so he laid in pain for who knows how long as his body shivered in the cold.

“Oi, what are you lounging around for? We have work to do.”

Hinata peered one eye open, seeing Kageyama by his door, crossing his arms.

“Kageyama?” He asked, wincing as he realized how raspy his voice was.

Kageyama paid no mind to it, nodding as he walked closer. “I… I thought about it.”

Hinata hummed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama repeated firmly. “I’m sorry for just… being mad. I know you meant well. Unless you didn’t, then I’ll punch you.”

Hinata chuckled, propping himself up with his elbow with his limbs protesting against the action. “Of course I meant well, Kageyama. You’ve grown from who you used to be.”

Kageyama snorted. “Yeah. Thanks for that, I guess. We were a little immature yesterday. We’re partners, aren’t we? I should’ve… handled it all a little better, I guess.”

Hinata couldn’t agree more. 

He decided to say the words he meant to say to Kageyama the other day, this time with as much confidence as he could muster.

Kageyama needed to hear what he had to say, needed to know how Hinata thought of him.

“I know you being the king is something you can’t escape from,” Hinata started, giving Kageyama a tiny smile. “But, that isn’t what defines you, dummy. Your actions now say more than a title. You’ll always be _The King of Space,_ but you’ll also always be Kageyama Tobio. You’re accepted and loved.”

Kageyama met Hinata’s eyes for the first time in so long, his eyes widening at Hinata’s words. 

He offered Hinata a tiny, wobbly smile, one full of the words Kageyama didn’t know how to say yet. 

Hinata wanted to see more of Kageyama’s smile, one that would light up his entire life once he was finally able to see it again.

“Thank you, dumbass,” Kageyama whispered after a while of not saying anything and staring at Hinata.

Hinata could feel the fondness in Kageyama’s voice, giving him the biggest smile he could. 

It was what Kageyama deserved, especially after suffering with worries about his nickname for such a long time.

After what felt like a long time, dizziness hit Hinata harder than he expected, falling back into his bed as he lost balance on his elbow.

He heard a confused noise from Kageyama, who only stared at him.

“We shouldn’t be lounging around right now, dumbass. Let’s go do work.”

Hinata hummed, rolling his eyes against his head’s better judgement. 

“I'm not lounging around!” He exclaimed, and to prove Kageyama wrong, jumped right out of bed. “Let’s go!”

Kageyama hummed, offering Hinata his hand. 

Hinata reached out to grab Kageyama’s hand, but before he could, he lost strength in his knees.

They buckled underneath him, causing him to fall forward. 

Kageyama’s eyes widened, reaching out for Hinata as he fell, his eyes closing as dizziness took over.

He wished he missed the way Kageyama’s screams for him sounded so _raw_ and full of emotions, and blacked out.

~

Hinata woke up to the overwhelming feeling to _vomit._

His eyes widened and as if Kageyama knew, there was a trash can right next to his face. 

Despite his dizziness, he threw up into the trash can, Kageyama rubbing circles on his back.

“Hey,” Kageyama said as soon as Hinata stopped vomiting, his breaths coming out a little short and tired.

“Are you done?” Kageyama asked, his voice more soft than Hinata had ever heard it before.

He looked up at Kageyama as he fell backwards, nodding as his head hit the sheets below him. 

He felt really dizzy and lightheaded, the only thing he could focus on being Kageyama, who was now reaching out to his head. 

He moved his bangs out of the way, combing his hand through Hinata’s hair.

“Sorry for not helping out yesterday,” Kageyama mumbled.

At Hinata’s confused expression, Kageyama frowned. “With the tasks we had to do,” he clarified.

Hinata hummed. “It’s okay,” he said, his voice raspy with disuse. 

His eyes looked around the room, the contents of it unfamiliar. 

It was then that he realized he was in a slightly bigger bed. 

He looked back to Kageyama, who was putting the trash can on the floor with the hand that wasn’t on Hinata’s hair.

“Is this… your room?” Hinata asked.

Kageyama nodded, averting his eyes away from Hinata. “I thought it would be more comfortable for you, especially since you have a fever.”

“Thank you,” Hinata whispered, his eyes fluttering shut as Kageyama hummed in response.

“I’ll do our work today,” Kageyama informed. “You better stay here and rest, dumbass. I don’t want you to get worse.”

Hinata chuckled, opening his eyes slowly.

He grinned, Kageyama’s concern was seeping through the cracks, and Hinata felt warm knowing he was worried. 

“Don’t get yourself sick,” Hinata said.

Kageyama snorted. “Right. You just focus on getting better.”

With that, Kageyama took his hand from Hinata’s hair, Hinata frowning at the loss of warmth on his head.

Kageyama then put a wet cloth on his head, which was cold compared to Kageyama’s touch.

Though, he didn’t want to burden Kageyama with anything more, so he laid in Kageyama’s bed watching as he stood up from where he was sitting.

He shot Hinata a small smile before walking out of the room, Hinata feeling warm and happy despite his constant shivering.

The day was full of sleeping and waking up, Hinata unsure if he was awake more than he was asleep.

Kageyama would occasionally come into the room to check on Hinata and give him some broth knowing Hinata couldn’t stomach much.

If anything, Hinata noticed that Kageyama was coming inside of the room more frequently than not, as if he was constantly concerned. 

_That wouldn’t do,_ Hinata thought. 

When Kageyama entered the room for what seemed to be the tenth time that day, Hinata put a hand on top of Kageyama’s and whispered, “Don’t worry so much, Yama. I’ll be okay.”

To which Kageyama responded with, “I’ll stop worrying once your fever is gone, dumbass.” 

His voice softer than usual, Hinata noticing. Kageyama averted his eyes, looking everywhere else except at Hinata. “I think… at least now, I owe you something.”

Hinata shook his head rapidly despite his head protesting at him not to. “You don’t have to tell me anything,” he said, holding his head in his hands from the sudden movement.

He felt Kageyama’s hands on his own, pulling them away from his head.

“Dumbass, stop straining yourself,” he said, the softness from before back as if it never left in the first place. “I… I want to tell you.”

Hinata hummed, laying his head against the pillow as Kageyama set his hands down, a small smile on his face.

"Well, I’m not going anywhere. Tell me what you're comfortable with,” Hinata mumbled, taking one of Kageyama’s hands into his own.

Kageyama nodded, moving to sit on the bed while holding Hinata’s hand ever so lightly. 

He cleared his throat, his midnight blue eyes meeting Hinata’s own as he opened his mouth. 

“My grandfather first introduced me to space when I was younger, looking for somewhere to belong. He told me so many stories of space, so many amazing things that made me want to be an astronaut more than anything else.

“I was accepted into Karasuno early with Kunimi and Kindaichi with recommendation from my sister, Commander Kageyama Miwa, who’s currently out on a multiyear mission. Stop looking at me like that, I didn’t expect you to know her,” Kageyama remarked, using his free hand to light flick Hinata in the forehead.

Hinata pouted, his eyebrows furrowing. “She’s a commander, Kageyama! Aren’t we supposed to know our superiors?”

“Well, she hasn’t been on Earth for five years, if you haven’t noticed,” Kageyama said. “When she comes back, I’ll introduce you to her. I think she’d like that.”

Hinata chuckled, looking at Kageyama with half lidded eyes, exhaustion hitting him sooner than he’d like. “I’d love to meet your sister, she’s probably better than you.”

“Dumbass, that isn’t true,” Kageyama remarked, his voice undeniably fond as he met Hinata’s gaze. 

Hinata giggled, giving Kageyama a small, “It’s true.” 

He squeezed Kageyama’s hand, not finding the energy in him to tell Kageyama to continue. 

Kageyama seemed to get the message, though, and squeezed back.

“After getting into Karasuno, I think the three of us had unrealistic expectations to meet,” Kageyama continued.

"The pressure of keeping up such a prestige image got to all three of us, resulting in our failure in that test run. We were too different, I think. Having colliding ideologies, different ways of executing things, we hardly were able to work together. Separate, we were fine, but together, we just didn’t work.”

Hinata nodded, giggling slightly. “But isn’t that how we were?”

Kageyama huffed, thinking about it for a bit.

After a while, he shook his head. “If we were like that, I don’t think I’d be here taking care of you for getting sick when I left yesterday.”

Hinata chuckled at that, his eyes fluttering shut as exhaustion took over.

"Kageyama?” He asked, he wanted to get something in before he fell asleep.

Kageyama squeezed his hand. “What?” 

“You… You’re accepted and loved,” Hinata said slowly. “No matter who you are.”

Kageyama snorted, Hinata feeling Kageyama thread his fingers through his hair like earlier.

“Thanks,” Kageyama whispered. “You don’t have to tell me twice. The first time was enough.”

Hinata smiled, melting into the cushions underneath him. “As long as you understand, Softyama-kun.”

“Dumbass, just fall asleep already,” Kageyama muttered, his voice fond as if he was longing to do such a thing for a long time.

Hinata hummed at that, letting his smile disappear as he drifted off into sleep with a warm feeling in his chest and a light pressure on his forehead, disappearing just as it appeared.

As if it wasn’t there at all.

~

Hinata awoke the next morning feeling better than the day before, figuring he just needed a day of rest.

Kageyama wasn’t in his room when he woke up, so Hinata stood up as quickly as he could to see Kageyama in the main room.

And, Kageyama _was_ there, tea in his hands.

Kageyama’s eyes widened at the sight of Hinata. “You’re out of bed,” he said.

Hinata nodded, crossing his arms. “Yep! I should be okay to do stuff today, Kageyama!” Hinata exclaimed, looking at the meal Kageyama prepared the two of them. “Uwah! Fruits!”

“Don’t get so excited,” Kageyama muttered, giving Hinata one of the cups of tea he was holding. “I don’t want you to strain yourself, so you’re doing easy stuff today.”

Hinata pouted after he took a sip of his tea. “I won’t strain myself.”

“Knowing you, you _will,”_ Kageyama hissed. “It’s just for today, anyway.”

Hinata didn’t miss the moment to tease Kageyama once he looked at him, Kageyama’s eyes full of concern and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you worried about me, Kageyama-kun?”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, a scowl forming on his face. “Shut up, I am _not.”_

Hinata only smiled as Kageyama passed over a bowl of fruit to him, giggling. “What you did yesterday says otherwise.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes. “As if you weren’t weird yesterday.”

“We were having a serious moment!” Hinata argued playfully. “I needed to let you know stuff! And I had a fever, you jerk!”

Kageyama snorted, putting his head into his palm as he watched Hinata munch on fruit. “Whatever. Just eat your food so we can actually be productive today. I’ll have you know Mission Specialist Bokuto and Mission Specialist Akaashi were not happy with you being sick and us having a small misunderstanding. They’re probably going to yell at you today.”

“Great,” Hinata said sarcastically. “Another stressful day for us astronauts, I guess!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes. “No _shit,_ this is our job. It takes forever to get things done around here with just the two of us.”

“Well, we are a team, we always have each other to help out!” Hinata exclaimed, patting Kageyama’s back. 

Kageyama huffed, scowling slightly. “Right, whatever. We’re partners or something like that.”

“You could say it with a nicer face!” Hinata pouted. “But you’re right. We’re space partners.”

Kageyama only nodded, the shining glint in his eyes telling Hinata he agreed with all of his heart.

~

Their next few days go like Hinata expected them to, him and Kageyama working together on certain tasks and getting closer than they needed to be. 

If Hinata was honest, he thought that his past thoughts on Kageyama would be buried deep down where no one would be able to find them, not even Hinata himself.

With every passing day, Kageyama was still throwing insults and telling Hinata that what he was doing was a little wrong, but it didn’t stop thoughts from resurfacing to Hinata’s mind. 

Kageyama was more gentle than before, his eyes no longer full of remorse or regret. 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t gentle before, Kageyama was more gentle than anyone else Hinata knew. 

It was more of Kageyama’s touch, how he managed to let their hands brush each other gently, as if he was finding solace in a tiny touch.

The very rare moment they touched, Hinata noticed how each touch seemed to linger, as if Kageyama wanted to do more. 

If Hinata was honest, he wanted to do more, too.

Wanted to feel Kageyama’s tight hold once again, how he felt safe and sound when he felt Kageyama’s touch.

Which is probably why previous feelings resurfaced, why his thoughts on Kageyama came back as if he never hid them in the first place. 

He always found Kageyama attractive, the obvious way he’d been working out and the way his shirts stuck onto his skin a little too tightly when he was sweaty from farming or fixing something on the ship. 

He _always_ found Kageyama attractive, so he buried every single feeling about said attractiveness down.

His voice, his touch, his gentleness, Hinata was so _smitten,_ it pained his chest. 

It ached, yearning for something more with Kageyama.

He couldn’t allow himself to let go and let himself think he and Kageyama could be something more. 

Perhaps it was that Hinata thought Kageyama didn’t feel the same way, or the rule of astronauts being able to date without permission, Hinata wasn’t sure.

He just couldn’t let himself fall, not yet. Not when he had to keep going farther up.

Hinata was sipping coffee he made himself after farming, feeling a little refreshed after having to harvest some of the vegetables they were growing. 

Hinata then realized that it was almost time for the two of them to be going to bed and give a report back to Earth. 

He put his cup of coffee down, looking around the oxygen tents for Kageyama, finding no one.

“Okay, don’t panic,” Hinata told himself, taking a deep breath.

Kageyama had volunteered to go out for the day on the Mars rover, saying that Hinata’s driving needed more work so he would do the work outside for the day.

Hinata was fine with that, so he stayed at the ship to do all the things Kageyama couldn’t.

But, Kageyama didn’t normally stay out this late. 

If anything, Kageyama would get back earlier than expected and prepare a meal for them. 

Kageyama wasn’t there, and Hinata was trying not to think too much about it. 

It’d be fine, Kageyama’s left for the whole day and came back once before, Hinata shouldn’t worry.

There was an aching feeling in his chest, though. 

One that told him that it didn’t matter if Kageyama left for a full day before, one that told him that if he didn’t go out to try to find Kageyama something horrible would happen.

Hinata gave into such a thought, trusting his instincts.

He ran to the oxygen tent that led outside of their ship, put on his spacesuit and his helmet, and walked out of the oxygen tent.

He didn’t waste any time looking. 

He ran around the perimeters of the ship, branching out and not caring if he didn’t know the way back.

Kageyama was his main priority, no matter what.

It was when he ran out of breath from running that he spotted a sight he never wanted to see again: the Mars rover overturned and crashed into a rock.

Hinata, despite being tired, ran over to the crashed rover. 

He breathed heavily as he scrambled to find Kageyama, _where was Kageyamaー_

“Kageyama!” Hinata shouted, taking hold of an unconscious Kageyama. 

He surveyed his face, how Kageyama’s helmet was shattered, blood seeping from his head as his face laid unconscious.

 _“Shit,”_ Hinata cursed, on the verge of tears. 

_Not like this,_ he thought, he didn’t want it to end for Kageyama like this. 

“Please be okay, Kageyama, _please.”_ He pleaded.

He needed to get back to the ship to check and see if Kageyama had a concussion and to bandage his injuries. 

Hinata frowned at the rover, seeing his only way was to carry Kageyama back.

Hinata took one look at Kageyama’s helmet once again, taking a deep breath. 

He wasn’t sure if what he was about to do would help, but it was worth a shot. 

A helmet should not be cracked on a planet that didn't have any oxygen.

Hinata quickly took off his helmet and switched it with Kageyama’s cracked one, giving Kageyama his own helmet. 

He realized under the pale light from the crashed rover’s lights that Kageyama’s face seemed to be getting some color back after the switch, Hinata sighing as he put Kageyama’s arm over his shoulder, slowly standing up.

He had to get back to the ship, no matter what.

Hinata couldn’t run back, the cracked helmet wouldn’t do him any favors, as well as walking slowly. 

He did what he had to, walking as fast as he could with Kageyama’s weight on his back.

Hinata’s breathing was heavy as soon as he reached the oxygen tent, he threw Kageyama inside before collapsing inside himself, using all the strength he had left to remove Kageyama’s helmet.

His hands fell to the side, his vision becoming full of black spots. 

Hinata stared at Kageyama’s unconscious body, still unable to _breathe._

He was gasping for air at this point, not being able to receive any, _why couldn’t he breatheー_

“Hinata!” He heard, looking through his half lidded eyes to see Kageyama removing the cracked helmet, his face full of concern despite the danger he was just in. 

If Hinata could laugh at the irony, he would.

But, for now, he couldn’t. 

He stared at Kageyama, taking hold of his hands. “Can’t,” he managed, panting. “Yama, can’t breathe.”

Hinata watched as Kageyama gathered him into his arms, alarms going off in his brain. “Dumbass, why did you switch our helmetsー”

“Yama,” Hinata gasped, holding onto Kageyama. “I can’tー”

Kageyama’s eyebrows furrowed, his eyes full of pain.

He immediately got closer to Hinata, pressing his lips onto Hinata’s mouth, and woah, they were _kissing._

Hinata kissed back as soon as he felt the strength to, Kageyama’s lips tasting sweeter than he thought they ever would. 

Kageyama’s lips were soft, tasted surprisingly like the blueberries they ate that morning, and was exactly how he’d expected it.

Kageyama pulled away after a while, leaving Hinata panting slightly in his arms to regain more oxygen. 

He stared up at Kageyama, whose eyes were filled with concern. 

Kageyama bit his lip, no longer hiding the worry on his face.

Hinata chuckled lightly once he could speak, laying limp in Kageyama’s arms. “That won’t do,” he whispered. “Don’t be so worried.”

 _“Dumbass,”_ Kageyama hissed. “You _fucking_ dumbass. Why did you do that, you dumbass?”

Hinata chuckled lightly. “Is that the only insult you have, Kageyama?”

Kageyama scowled. “It’s because you’re a dumbass, you almost _died.”_

Hinata huffed, still trying to breathe properly. “You too. You crashed the Mars rover!”

Kageyama scoffed, rolling his eyes and wincing as if the action hurt his head. “You couldn’t breathe and I was _unconscious.”_

“Okay, fine,” Hinata said, pouting. “I almost died, you’re dumb for crashing the rover, whatever! We need to get your head looked at.”

“Myー Hinata, you almost _died_ and you want to look at my head?”

Hinata sighed, poking Kageyama’s cheek. “Just let me look at it. Then you can scream at me for almost dying.”

Kageyama stared at Hinata. “You can’t even move right now. Don’t even try to deny it, I can feel how heavily you’re leaning onto me.”

Hinata huffed, he couldn’t deny that his limbs were a little weak, but they’d get their strength back soon.

He made grabby hands, smiling up at Kageyama. “Carry me to your bed? So I can look at your head wound?”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, not protesting as he tightened his hold around Hinata. “Fine, just don’t do anything dumb.”

Kageyama carried Hinata to his bed as soon as they got a first aid kit from one of the many cabinets in the main room, Hinata getting a little bit of strength to sit up. 

He patted the spot next to him to get Kageyama to sit, to which he obliged.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” Hinata commented, surveying Kageyama’s head. “I need to patch this up, though. Don’t like the way it’s bleeding.”

Kageyama hummed, averting his eyes as he felt Hinata’s finger and under his chin, lifting his head up.

“Hinata,” Kageyama called.

“Hm?” Hinata opened the first aid kit and took out the bandages.

“The kiss,” Kageyama started slowly. “You kissed back.”

Hinata froze slightly, still continuing to bandage Kageyama’s wound as he looked away. “I… yeah, I kissed back,” he admitted.

Hinata stayed quiet for a few moments, bandaging Kageyama’s wound up as slowly as he could, moving his bangs out of the way. 

He let out a shaky breath, no longer able to hide his feelings for Kageyama away.

The feelings he had for Kageyama that were once hiding deserved to be known, Hinata knew Kageyama deserved at least that much.

“I like you,” Hinata confessed, biting his lip. “You’re so important to me, Kageyama. I like you a lot.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, Hinata pulling away from his bandaged head to give Kageyama a small, painful smile.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I know you don’t," Hinata whispered, averting his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt pressure on his forehead, Kageyama pressing a light kiss to it before pulling away, blushing profusely. “Don’t jump to conclusions, dumbass. I… I like you, too.”

Hinata chuckled at this, smiling as brightly as he could.

He took Kageyama’s face into his hands, staring at him like he was his world.

"What are we, middle schoolers in love?” Hinata asked, smiling wider when Kageyama chuckled, his smile more beautiful than any star Hinata seemed to see. “Kiss me, Kageyama.”

Kageyama hummed, leaning in and kissing Hinata with the same passion as before, this time full of love and acceptance. 

Hinata kissed back, hoping Kageyama would feel the same amount of love he was. 

He felt Kageyama’s hand on his hair, pulling Hinata closer to him. 

Hinata smiled against Kageyama’s lips, this whole thing felt perfect, like he always belonged in such a spot.

The two of them fell asleep on Kageyama’s bed, smiling as they cuddled, their past thoughts for each other long gone as new feelings blossomed. 

Hinata felt this was the start of something new for him and Kageyama, something destined for the two of them since the start of time.

~

Hinata was used to waking up alone.

Though it seemed that this time, when he opened his eyes, he didn’t wake up alone. 

He woke up to Kageyama staring lovingly at him, tucking his hair behind his ear.

“Wow, _someone’s_ in love,” Hinata teased, smiling at Kageyama through his half lidded eyes.

Kageyama rolled his eyes, continuing to play with Hinata’s hair. “I can’t stare at my boyfriend?”

Hinata flushed, tucking his face into Kageyama’s chest.

He wasn’t used to such a term, never really dating anyone until just a few hours ago. “Do it when I’m awake so I can tease you, Yama,” Hinata mumbled into Kageyama’s chest.

Kageyama snorted. “That won’t stop me from doing it whenever I want to, dumbass.”  
Hinata looked up, pressing kisses to

Kageyama’s jawline. “Mm, we should get up. Gotta start the day, Kageyama.”

Kageyama hummed, moving to a sitting position as Hinata followed suit, Kageyama pressing a kiss to Hinata’s head as the two of them got out of bed. 

Hinata smiled at the gesture, Kageyama’s gentleness made it seem as if he’d wanted to do such a thing for so long.

Once they entered the main room, Kageyama moved to prepare meals, walking to the cabinets. 

Hinata immediately walked to the control station to contact Bokuto and Akaashi, seeing as the two of them hadn’t told them about what happened.

“Mission Specialist Hinata,” Akaashi greeted once he had accepted the signal from space, frowning down at Hinata with Bokuto right next to him, equally as serious. “We haven’t heard from the two of you in a long time.”

Hinata chuckled nervously, playing with the hem of his shirt collar. “We… had a little incident yesterday.”

Bokuto raised an eyebrow, his shoulders tensing up. “An incident? What happened? Are you two okay?”

Akaashi put a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder, as if he was trying to calm him.

“An incident doesn’t sound good, no matter how small it is,” Akaashi said. “What happened?”

Hinata averted his eyes, hearing Kageyama humming to himself from the other side of the room. 

_Oh, to go up to Kageyama right there and then and hug him and tease him for his singing._

Hinata shook the thought away, _now was not the time._

He cleared his throat, smiling nervously at the two mission specialists. “Ah, well Kageyama crashed the Mars rover.”

Akaashi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“He also had a head injury, which is fine! I patched it up,” Hinata added quickly. “He’s okay now! I’m okay, too. We’re fine!”

Bokuto looked at Hinata skeptically, but nodded nonetheless. “If you’re sure you're safe, then I guess it should be okay.”

Akaashi nodded, agreeing even if he looked at Hinata with as much suspicion as possible. “Do you need us to send you anything?”

Hinata shook his head. “I think we’re good!”

“Great! Tell us if you need any extra parts for the rover, I’ll make sure Engineer Takeda sends them right over!” Bokuto exclaimed.

“Stay safe, Mission Specialist Hinata! Send our regards to Pilot Kageyama as well, we’ll be waiting for your report later!”

Hinata nodded, smiling as the signal cut off. 

He strolled over to the cabinets to find Kageyama drinking coffee, one freshly made cup right next to his arm that was perched on top of the cabinets.

Hinata chuckled, taking the cup as Kageyama stared at his every movement. 

He turned his head up, pressing a light peck to Kageyama’s lips.

Kageyama stared back, astonished but blushing. “Dumbass,” he mumbled, his fond voice making Hinata feel warm as he sipped the coffee Kageyama made for him.

“Mission Specialist Bokuto and Mission Specialist Akaashi are glad you’re okay,” Hinata informed. “They want us to do another report later!”

Kageyama hummed. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

Hinata poked Kageyama’s cheek, pouting. _“You_ need to rest, Yamayama-kun! You have a head injury!” Hinata exclaimed.

Kageyama rolled his eyes, presumably at the nickname. “I’ll be okay, we should split up the jobs as usual.”

“I’d trust you, but your head is _wrapped._ With _bandages,”_ Hinata commented. “Let your caring boyfriend do most of the work!”

Kageyama snorted, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Hinata’s forehead. “If you say so, dumbass,” Kageyama whispered, sipping his coffee as soon as he pulled away.

The two of them stayed in a comfortable silence, something Hinata had come to appreciate. 

There were hardly many moments where they were quiet around each other, the room was mostly filled with the two of them talking or something making noise.

Hinata giggled to himself once he remembered Kageyama humming to himself while he was making coffee. 

Kageyama raised an eyebrow at the sound, looking to Hinata in confusion.

“You have a nice voice,” Hinata said, the smile in his voice clear. “You should sing more!”

Kageyama flushed slightly, averting his eyes from Hinata. “You heard that?”

Hinata nodded, smiling up at Kageyama as he furrowed his eyebrows. “It was so cute, Kageyama! You should do it more!”

Kageyama turned back to Hinata, grabbing his hair, Hinata gasping as Kageyama’s hand landed on his head.

“Do you know what song it was?” He asked softly, as if he wasn’t scowling down at Hinata and gripping his hair.

Hinata shook his head. “Uwah, Kageyama! Let go! I don’t know!”

Kageyama loosened his grip on Hinata, ruffling his hair as he averted his eyes away. “Fly you to the moon,” he mumbled.

Hinata’s eyes lit in recognition of the song, grinning as widely as he could. 

Something about that song seemed so special to their current situation, so intimate that Hinata wanted to jump into space and give Kageyama all the stars in existence.

“That’s such a cute song!” Hinata exclaimed. “It’s like, meant for us! I think.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. “Yeah. I know,” he said, a small smile edging to break out.

Hinata sipped the last contents of his coffee, the song reminded him of his dreams of being a pilot. 

He stared at the very person who was the main pilot of the mission they were on, the very person whom he’d fallen in love with.

Hinata wouldn’t back down on his promise, not if Kageyama was the main pilot of this mission. 

Once they were back on Earth, Hinata would do all he could to beat Kageyama. 

The next mission they’d have, he’d be the main pilot. He’d make sure of it.

“Kageyama,” Hinata called out, to which Kageyama hummed to let Hinata continue. “I won’t let you beat me,” he said firmly, looking at Kageyama with as much intensity as he could.

Kageyama met his gaze, as if he understood without any explanation. “When we get back, show them why I have faith in you.” He crossed his arms, leaning close to Hinata. “I won’t back down, though.”

Kageyama pressed a brief kiss to Hinata’s lips, to which Hinata smiled, cupping Kageyama’s face. “I wouldn’t let you back down anyway.” 

He let go of Kageyama, holding out his fist, a direct reference to their first fist bump that they had made, all those weeks ago.

Kageyama bumped Hinata’s fist with as much strength as he could, putting behind them the promise they once made of working together. 

Now looking forward, they made the mutual, yet silent promise to eternity together.

~

“Hinata, wake up.”

Hinata felt a slight nudge to his arm, making him groan and put his face in his pillow. “Not yet,” he said, muffled by the pillow. “Too early.”

He felt Kageyama kiss the crown of his head, ruffling his hair. “We slept in, actually.”

Hinata sighed, turning face and peering one of his eyes open to Kageyama, who was sitting up in his bed.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow as they looked at each other, a silent question of whether Hinata was going to move or not.

“Hey,” Kageyama said, giving Hinata a small smile.

Hinata closed his eyes and scooted closer to Kageyama, feeling a hand on his head as he drifted back into a light sleep, not yet ready to conquer the day.

“Your bed is so warm,” Hinata said, aware that his voice was full of disuse and sleep.

Kageyama snorted, continuing to run his hands through Hinata’s hair. “Our beds are the same, dumbass.”

“I know,” Hinata whispered. “But, I like yours. It has you.”

Kageyama removed his hand from Hinata’s hair, moving to lay back down next to him. 

Hinata opened his eyes to see Kageyama’s face right in front of him, moving his bangs out of the way.

Hinata put his arms around Kageyama, closing his eyes as he let Kageyama play with his hair a bit.

“We need to get up,” Kageyama whispered, as if he wasn’t sure if Hinata was awake. “Got a lot to do today.”

“We can do it tomorrow,” Hinata mumbled.

Kageyama sighed, Hinata thinking he probably rolled his eyes. 

Kageyama didn’t seem to argue, he probably didn’t want to ruin the silent bliss they were having, and instead kissed Hinata’s head.

“Is my bed really _that_ comfortable?” Kageyama asked.

Hinata hummed. “Yeah, and you’re comfortable too.”

Kageyama snorted. “Dumbass.”

“Not a dumbass. You are,” Hinata said back.

“Whatever, go back to sleep,” Kageyama said, his voice softer than what it was a few moments ago.

Hinata wondered if such a thing was even possible.

“Thought you wanted me to get up,” Hinata mumbled.

Kageyama huffed. “Do you want to?”

Hinata shook his head, melting into Kageyama’s touch as he returned Hinata’s embrace. 

“Then sleep, dumbass,” Kageyama whispered, pulling Hinata closer to his chest.

Hinata chuckled as he pressed his face against Kageyama’s chest, falling back asleep within Kageyama’s warm embrace.

~

Their relationship went as smoothly as it could for the next few months. 

Hinata never returned to his own room at night anymore, sleeping and cuddling with Kageyama every night and waking up, tangled together and warm.

Hinata was happy, to say the least. 

He wanted to spend forever with Kageyama, wanted nothing more but to make Kageyama happy and feel like he had a place to belong. 

Of course, with their occasional banter and playful insults, time on Mars was fun.

Hinata felt like he’d finally reached a dream he’d been yearning for his entire life, the stars in the sky now being able to give him such a thing.

Hinata forgot one factor that would cause problems with his relationship with Kageyama: the fact that astronauts could not date without explicit permission from their commanding officers.

Hinata wasn’t sure why such a rule existed, maybe it was thought to cause problems on missions when it came to sacrifices or if something horrible happened, but he didn’t think it would be a problem for him and Kageyama.

Of course, it’d be a problem if everyone on Earth figured out, though. 

Mostly because they didn’t get permission before going on the mission, Hinata knew they wouldn’t have any lasting consequences as long as they didn’t say anything until they were back on Earth.

The two of them never mentioned it when they sent reports to Bokuto and Akaashi, acting as normally as possible when they were around each other during reports.

Hinata didn’t think it would be a problem, really. 

He didn’t report to Bokuto and Akaashi for too long, and the rest of the time he could do whatever he wanted with Kageyama, whether it be hugging him or kissing his neck. 

He also didn’t think it’d be a problem for Kageyama, which proved to be more damaging that he thought it would be. 

There was a lot Hinata wished he could’ve done, could’ve assured Kageyama with, but he didn’t.

It was a lack of communication on their part, he was sure. 

He returned from farming, yelling to Kageyama to say that he was finished. 

When he entered the main room, he saw Kageyama talking to Bokuto and Akaashi, their faces serious.

“We’ve been keeping something from you,” Kageyama said slowly. “I can’t… keep it in.”

Hinata’s chest ached at Kageyama’s tone, frowning as he gripped his shirt and walked a little closer to hear the conversation better. 

He should’ve asked Kageyama if it was okay to pursue their relationship without telling anyone, should’ve asked if Kageyama would be able to keep them a secret for at least one more year.

Bokuto and Akaashi stayed silent, waiting for Kageyama to continue. 

He took in a deep breath and faced the screen. “Hinata and I are dating.”

Hinata stifled in a gasp, trying to stay silent as Bokuto and Akaashi faced each other, frowning.

“I'm sorry, Pilot Kageyama. You two know the rules. We’ll be sending a new crew soon. Tell Mission Specialist Hinata he will be off the mission,” Akaashi said. 

With that, the signal cut off, leaving Kageyama staring at the blank screen in shock.

Hinata decided to make his presence known, walking into the room and facing the screen so Kageyama could see him. 

Kageyama turned around as soon as he saw Hinata from the corner of his eye, his eyes wide. “Hinataー”

“Why did you tell them?” Hinata asked, angry that Kageyama never consulted him before he decided to tell Bokuto and Akaashi about them. “Why did you tell them without even telling _me_ you were gonna do that? Did you even try to keep it a secret in the first place?”

Kageyama scowled, his eyes narrowing as if it pained him to say his next words. “We shouldn’t have kept this a secret in the first place.”

Hinata’s eyes widened, feeling tears start to form as his vision blurred. “What are you… What do you mean? Why didn’t you talk to me about it?” 

Kageyama huffed. “There wasn’t time.”

Out of anger, he then asked, “Did you even care about my opinion on this in the first place? Was this all an act?”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, and for a brief moment, Hinata thought he was going to burst into tears, too.

But, he scowled, as if he didn’t want to say anything that would hurt them. “Don’t put words into my mouth,” Kageyama scowled.

Before Kageyama could say anymore, Hinata shouted. “You put me off the mission, Kageyama! You’re letting this all go to waste, you’re forcing me back when I don’t want to _go.”_

“It wasn’t my choice to replace _you,”_ Kageyama hissed. 

“It wasn’t your choice but you didn’t argue against it!” Hinata yelled. “You _know_ how badly I wanted to go to space, Kageyama!”

Kageyama averted his eyes, as if he was looking for an excuse. 

He looked back at Hinata, still as mad as he was earlier. “You know how badly I want this, too. I’m not about to sacrifice my time here because you decided to fall in love.”

 _And you didn't fall in love?_ Hinata wanted to ask. 

He felt his chest tighten, not saying anymore to Kageyama as he saw him open his mouth.

Hinata felt a tear run down his cheek as he turned away, not wanting to hear the rest of what Kageyama was going to say. 

He didn’t need to know anymore, didn’t need to know why Kageyama thought they weren’t worth a little secret.

For the first time in what seemed like months, Hinata slept in his own room.

He let himself cry, trying to muffle his sobs as they echoed through his room.

~

The next few days passed as normal, though. 

They hardly talked and Hinata now was sleeping in his own room, but their routine never wavered. 

They were doing what they were supposed to, as well as preparing meals for each other, but they never spoke.

Hinata would occasionally glance at Kageyama when they were in the same room together, but he never felt the need to tell Kageyama anything. 

Why would he when Kageyama made it clear he didn’t want them to be together right now?

What would he even say to Kageyama, who didn't seem to be interested in anything Hinata did?

Hinata wondered if they’d finally go back to where they were before Hinata had to leave. 

Hinata wanted to at least say something, anything, to the person who meant so much to him before he wouldn't see him for years to come.

Then, Kageyama’s new crew arrived. 

Hinata woke up early to greet them on the ship before he had to return to Earth, still hurt that Kageyama ruined the entire mission for him. 

He strolled over once he heard the oxygen tents open up, Hinata immediately recognizing their faces once he made it over.

He tried not to let surprise show on his face, biting his lip as they approached him. 

“Engineer Kindaichi, Mission Specialist Kunimi! It’s… uh, nice to meet you!” He exclaimed awkwardly.

“Hi, Mission Specialist Hinata,” Kindaichi greeted. “If you don’t mind, we’ll stay in the oxygen tents for now as you get ready to leave.”

“Ah, okay!” Hinata exclaimed, running as fast as he could so he could tell Kageyama about Kindaichi and Kunimi.

They hadn’t spoken for a few days, but that didn’t cease any of Hinata’s worry. 

He didn’t want Kageyama to relive what he once went through, didn't want Kageyama to work with them if he didn’t want to.

He bumped head first into Kageyama’s chest as he reached the main room, falling onto the ground with a big “oof!”

Kageyama scowled as Hinata stood back up, looking at him with his eyebrows furrowed. “Uwah, Kageyama! Your replacement crew is Kindaichi and Kunimi, isn’t thatー”

“I don’t need you to be concerned about me,” Kageyama interrupted. “Excuse me.”

Hinata watched as Kageyama walked away from him, frowning as he just let him go. 

He frowned, his chest aching with the desperate need to do _something,_ anything not to let Kageyama have that pained expression on his face again.

“Wait, _shit,”_ Hinata whispered to himself. 

After days of not talking to Kageyama, he finally realized why Kageyama told Bokuto and Akaashi about their relationship, why he’d been cold towards Hinata the last couple of days.

Kageyama didn’t want to get hurt, so he pushed Hinata away.

Hinata ran towards the control station, realizing if he wanted to help he had to fight for their love. 

He quickly sent a signal back to Earth, hoping Akaashi and Bokuto would answer right away. 

He thought of the words to say to let him stay on the mission, the words to say to Kageyama the next time they saw each other, the words to say to Kunimi and Kindaichi.

“Mission Specialist Hinata,” Akaashi greeted. “I assume Mission Specialist Kunimi and Engineer Kindaichi are there now?”

Hinata shrugged. “Well, yeah, but that’s not why I called.”

“Oh?” Bokuto asked. “Why did you contact us, then? Do you need help getting back to Earth, Backup Pilot?”

Hinata shook his head, not in the mood to joke. “I think it’s horrible that you’re sending me back to Earth just because Kageyama and I never said anything about our relationship.”

At this, Akaashi jumped. “Ah, well, we’re just following protocol. I don’t want to send you back for something that naturally happened, but we have to. Commander Ukai spoke to the headmaster about it.”

Hinata shuddered at the mention of their headmaster, Headmaster Ukai Ikkei, Commander Ukai’s grandfather. 

He decided not to care about pride and faced Bokuto and Akaashi. “Then, can you get him? I’m not going back, not without a fight.”

At this, Bokuto’s eyes widened. “I… but, it’s protocol for all of us to send you backー”

“But it’s wrong!” Hinata shouted. “It’s wrong just to send me back just because I fell in love, just because Kageyama means so much to me!”

“Hinataー”

“You can’t send me back!” Hinata screamed, not caring if Kageyama, Kindaichi, or Kunimi heard him scream. “This mission means so much, I won’t let my emotions ruin that. Kageyama and this mission means so much to me!”

Akaashi frowned. “Mission Specialistー”

Hinata wasn’t going to let them get any words in, any point of reasoning. “Please, just let me stay. Kageyama and I are doing what you asked, our relationship isn’t ruining our jobs. We love each other as much as we love our jobs. Please, _let me stay with him.”_

Bokuto and Akaashi stood there, shocked at Hinata’s words. 

Bokuto sighed, chuckling as he crossed his arms. “Love really is so powerful, isn’t it, Akaashi?”

Akaashi hummed, kissing Bokuto on the cheek before turning to Hinata, whose eyes widened. 

“I’ll tell Mission Specialist Kunimi and Engineer Kindaichi to come back.”

Hinata gasped. “Really?”

Akaashi nodded. “I’ll tell the headmaster that you and Pilot Kageyama signed a Mars rock signifying you had permission to date from Commander Kageyama Miwa, who I’ll contact to surely approve your relationship. The headmaster won’t give you any trouble that way, and you can stay on your mission.”

Hinata let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, immediately feeling a presence behind him. “Thank you so much.”

Bokuto nodded, glancing from Hinata and to a different part of the screen. “Good luck, Mission Specialist Hinata.”

Akaashi hummed in agreement. “You have our regards once again, Mission Specialist Hinata and Pilot Kageyama.”

The signal immediately cut off, leaving Hinata staring at a blank screen, seeing Kageyama from the corner of his eye. 

He chuckled, averting his eyes from Kageyama’s gaze. “I’m staying on Mars,” he announced.

Before Kageyama could say anything, Hinata turned around. 

He ran straight into Kageyama’s chest, Kageyama catching and steadying him so they wouldn’t fall to the ground.

He hung onto Kageyama’s arms, feeling tears threatening to run down his face.

"I’m staying,” he repeated. “You won't send me home, Kageyama. I’m staying with you.”

Kageyama huffed. “I told you not to be concerned about me.”

Hinata let out a wet chuckle, tightening his grip around Kageyama. “Shut up. I’m only concerned because you pushed me away.”

Kageyama’s grip loosened, his hands lingering around Hinata as if he was hesitating his next decision. “I’m not pushing you away,” he whispered, as if he didn't believe it himself.

Hinata let out a tiny sob, pressing closer to Kageyama. “Listen!” He screamed, looking up to Kageyama knowing the tears he was so desperately trying to hold in were now coming out. “Stop acting like you don't love me! I _know_ you're lying, Kageyama! I love you, so stop pushing me away!”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, moving his hands to wipe Hinata’s tears. “You…” He started, averting his eyes. “How did you know? That I was pushing you away?”

Hinata giggled as Kageyama pressed his thumb over Hinata’s cheekbones. “I know you better than you think, stupid.”

Kageyama huffed, furrowing his eyebrows as Hinata’s tears continued to come out of his eyes. “I was afraid,” he admitted, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Hinata’s wet face. “I’m… you really fought to stay, dumbass?”

Hinata nodded. “I needed to let you know you deserve happiness. You can't push me away that easily.”

Kageyama wiped the last of Hinata’s tears, the two of them leaning in for a kiss, one they hadn't had in days.

Hinata knew his lips were probably salty with his tears, but the way Kageyama pressed his lips against Hinata’s own was enough to let Hinata know he didn't care.

They pulled away after a while, Hinata smiling as he made eye contact with Kageyama. 

“I love you,” he whispered against Kageyama’s lips, fluttering his eyes shut as Kageyama pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“I…” Kageyama pressed his lips together. “You mean everything to me, dumbass.”

Hinata giggled, beaming up at Kageyama. “Mission Specialist Akaashi and Mission Specialist Bokuto said they were going to get our relationship officially approved,” Hinata informed.

Kageyama’s eyes widened, seemingly with hope. “Who… is Commander Ukai approving it?”

Hinata shook his head. “Your sister.”

Kageyama huffed, now smiling at Hinata with all the happiness he could muster. “So, you're staying?”

Hinata nodded, grinning up at Kageyama as wide as he could to rival his smile. “For eternity, Kageyama.”

Kageyama snorted. “For eternity, huh?”

Hinata nodded, pecking Kageyama’s cheek. “For eternity.”

With that left one more issue: Kindaichi and Kunimi. Hinata looked back to Kageyama as they stood in a comfortable silence, still in Kageyama’s arms.

He wiggled out slightly, frowning. “I’ll deal with Kindaichi and Kunimi,” he said, Kageyama kissing his forehead.

“I’ll come with you,” Kageyama huffed. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, anyway.”

Hinata’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

Kageyama nodded. “I don’t think I’m going to talk… But I want to see them.”

Hinata hummed, intertwining his hand with Kageyama’s, leading him to the oxygen tent that Kindaichi and Kunimi were in.

He wondered why Kageyama wanted to come along, still concerned about what he would feel once he saw the two people he once worked with.

But, Kageyama wanted this. 

Hinata wouldn’t tell him he couldn’t if he wanted to see them.

Hinata entered the oxygen tent with Kageyama right on his tail, following close behind him as he waved to the two astronauts.

“Mission Specialist Hinata,” Kunimi called, glancing between Hinata and Kageyama. “We got word that you’re staying, so we’re going to leave.”

“Ah, okay,” Hinata said, unsure of what to think. “Good luck on your way back.”

Kindaichi and Kunimi nodded, not saying anything back but acknowledged Hinata’s words. 

The entire situation was awkward.

The both of them looked at each other before facing Kageyama, Kindaichi scratching the back of his neck. “I hope we can fly again together some time,” he said, Hinata knowing it was for Kageyama.

He backed away as Kageyama walked forward, giving Kunimi and Kindaichi a handshake. “I hope so, too,” he said, nothing but compassion behind his words.

“We wish you two the best, then,” Kunimi announced as they made their way to the exit of the oxygen tent.

Kageyama and Hinata waved to them as they waved back, walking back to the space ship they came from. 

Hinata pressed his cheek against Kageyama’s shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief. “You okay?” he asked, nudging Kageyama slightly.

Kageyama kissed the crown of Hinata's hair, humming. “Yeah. You okay?” Kageyama asked back.

“Now that you’re here,” Hinata replied, smiling as Kageyama pulled away slightly, looking back at Hinata with his eyes shining.

Kageyama put his head down slightly, letting out a quiet laugh. “You’re such a dumbass,” Kageyama said fondy as he raised his head, smiling. 

Hinata’s eyes widened, returning the smile as he pressed his lips to Kageyama’s own. 

Kageyama’s smile always made him incredibly happy, his heart going into cartwheels whenever he saw it.

With that, Hinata felt warm with Kageyama by his side once again, knowing that the days ahead were filled with love and happiness.

~

“Bed time!” Hinata exclaimed, jumping onto Kageyama’s bed and hugging the blankets on top.

It’d been only a few days since Hinata slept with Kageyama on his bed, but he missed the warmth and comfort it provided as much as he missed Kageyama.

Kageyama huffed as he entered the room, seeing Hinata collapsed on top of his bed.

"What are you doing?” Kageyama asked, sitting next to Hinata and ruffling his hair.

“Missed this bed,” Hinata mumbled, muffled by the blankets underneath him. “Missed you, too,” he added, giving Kageyama a small smile.

Kageyama averted his eyes, blushing as he removed his hand from Hinata’s hair. 

He crossed his arms, sighing. “You could’ve still slept here, you know. I didn’t kick you out.”

“It would’ve been awkward,” Hinata whispered, putting a hand on Kageyama’s shoulder. 

Kageyama looked back at him, shrugging. “We still got work done without talking. It would’ve been fine.”

Hinata sighed, scooting closer to Kageyama. “I didn’t want to… make you uncomfortable. I thought you didn’t like me,” he said, laughing bitterly at the end.

Kageyama frowned, uncrossing his arms and putting them around Hinata. 

Hinata put his head on Kageyama’s shoulder, taking in his smell as they embraced.

“I love you,” Kageyama said, his voice firm as he tightened his embrace. “I’m sorry for what I did, and I should’ve fought harder for us. You mean so much to me, dumbass.”

Hinata chuckled, pulling away slightly to look at Kageyama’s face. 

He put his hand on Kageyama’s cheek, feeling him melt into the touch.

“You’re so sappy today,” Hinata whispered. “Even with that insult at the end.”

“Thanks for ignoring everything else I said,” Kageyama said sarcastically.

Hinata giggled, pressing a kiss to Kageyama’s cheek. “You’re welcome. Let’s sleep, Yama.”

Kageyama hummed, pressing his forehead against Hinata’s. “Yeah, get some rest. You worked hard this week.”

Hinata smiled. “You too, don’t give me all the credit. Everything must’ve been hard.”

“It’ll be fine,” Kageyama huffed. “We have all eternity with each other, right? So, it’ll be hard, but it’ll also be fine.”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you sap.”

He leaned closer to Kageyama, who closed his eyes as he realized what Hinata was going to do.

Kageyama leaned slightly forward as Hinata pressed his lips to Kageyama's, kissing him as they sat on Kageyama’s bed.

The kiss was full of warmth and love, Kageyama pulling Hinata closer by putting his hand in his fluffy hair. 

Hinata smiled against Kageyama’s lips, putting his arms around Kageyama’s neck.

They pulled away, Hinata smiling as Kageyama’s eyes reached him. “I missed you.”

Kageyama snorted. “I missed you, too, dumbass.”

Kageyama smiled, letting his hands get tangled in Hinata’s hair as he ran his hands through it.

Hinata looked at Kageyama’s eyes, how they seemed brighter than the night sky that they could see if they looked right outside of the oxygen tents, how they seemed like gems compared to the actual night sky.

He grinned, pulling Kageyama closer and hugging him as tight as he could, Kageyama’s smile on his mind.

They fell back into the bed, falling asleep and dreaming of orange filled sunsets and midnight colored skies.

~

Five years later, Hinata was still fascinated by the space behind the sky that seemed to shine brighter each passing day.

When Hinata thought of space, he thought of it’s vast nature, how the stars seemed to shine when they were lightyears away from each other. 

Alone, isolated, but still shining. 

He thought of the planets, how they seemed to align with each other without fail. 

He thought of asteroids, how one could do so much damage to whatever was in its path. 

He thought of one day reaching the stars above, letting himself breathe as he reached the dream he always wanted to reach.

“Are you awake?”

Hinata huffed, feeling slight pressure on his forehead. “Mm, five more minutes, Tobio.”

Kageyama snorted, pressing more kisses to Hinata’s forehead. “Did you forget what we have to do today, dumbass?”

Hinata peered one of his eyes open, staring at the love of his life. “G’morning,” he whispered, closing his eyes. 

He felt Kageyama nudge his shoulder, prompting him to open his eyes slowly. “Mm? What’re we doing?” Hinata asked, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

“Shouyou,” Kageyama started, cupping Hinata’s face with his hand. “We’re going on another mission. They want us to go to the Moon for a data trip. Commander Ennoshita is telling us our roles so we can prepare.”

Hinata nodded, melting into Kageyama’s touch. “Commander can wait.”

“No, he can't,” Kageyama huffed. “Come on, up.”

Hinata crawled out of bed reluctantly, Kageyama following after him. 

The two of them faced the mirror as they changed into their new Karasuno uniforms that they got after they came back from Mars, a jet black button up shirt with an orange tie to complete the look.

Hand in hand, the two of them strolled to the briefing room, the very place where they had met once before.

“You two are late,” Commander Ennoshita said as they entered. “Though, Ukai said you two would be.”

“Congrats in your promotion, Commander Ennoshita-san!” Hinata exclaimed, ignoring Ennoshita’s previous comment.

“We’re late because this dumbass didn't want to get out of bed,” Kageyama informed, rubbing the side of Hinata’s hand with his thumb. “So?”

Ennoshita chuckled, crossing his arms. “Well, these roles were recommended to the headmaster by Mission Specialist Bokuto seeing how well you two did on your Mars mission.” 

He smiled, glancing between the two of them as he continued. “And, I’m happy to say that the two of you are approved for this mission. Pilot Hinata Shouyou and Engineer Kageyama Tobio, you will be sent more information in a few days regarding the moon mission details.”

Hinata’s eyes widened at the title used for him, stilling as he looked up to Kageyama, who was smirking down at him. He then looked to Ennoshita. “Are you— is this… are you serious?”

Ennoshita nodded, grinning. “More than anything, Pilot.”

Hinata looked back to Kageyama, joy apparent on his face. 

He bounced up, unable to contain his excitement. “Tobio! Tobio, I’m the main pilot! _Uwah,_ Tobio!”

Before Kageyama could get a word in, Hinata bounced up and kissed Kageyama, smiling as he pulled away to Kageyama's flushed face.

“You win this time,” Kageyama huffed. “But, I guess you deserve it, Pilot.”

Hinata smiled at the title, giggling. “Of course I do, Engineer. You know that better than anyone.”

“Ahem,” Ennoshita cleared his throat. 

Hinata and Kageyama jumped, hand in hand as they faced Ennoshita. “Anyway, the two of you also have a presentation to the new trainees today, being famous for the Mars mission and all. Good luck on that.”

“Uwah, I forgot!” Hinata groaned, Kageyama pressing a kiss to his head.

“We’ll be fine, dumbass.” Kageyama assured. “We’re partners, remember?”

Hinata smiled, it seemed as if his question from all those years ago was now answered, the two of them working together better than anyone ever could.

“Yeah, partners,” Hinata agreed, looking up at the person that meant as much as the stars in the sky meant to him.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading! have a happy day/night, everyone! this was so fun to write, i really hope u all enjoyed it :D
> 
> here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/starberryteas) if u wanna talk about kghn or the fic with me !! TuT


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